


It Doesn't End Here

by immortalpramheda



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Basically this is how S7 should have gone, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fix-It, Minor John Muprhy/Emori, Minor Jordan Jasper Green/Hope Diyoza, Post S6, s7 rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 62,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalpramheda/pseuds/immortalpramheda
Summary: Bellamy and Clarke work together to figure out the mystery of the Anomaly.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 72
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my rewrite of S7. I've kept some things I liked about the season, and changed/tweaked things I didn't. It will have an ending that is satisfying, I can promise you that. Based on many theories I had and the way I thought the season was going to go, while also answering unanswered questions the show left hanging. Hope you enjoy!

Bellamy almost tripped over his own feet as he ran outside screaming Octavia’s name. Blood covered his hands. His sister’s blood. She’d disintegrated in his arms and turned to green tinged dust. His body was overcome with uncontrollable shakes. He couldn’t breathe properly.

He dropped to his knees and quietly sobbed for her, letting the tears fall down his cheeks. Where could she be? He’d only just gotten her back. She’d been different, after he’d left her to fend for herself on this strange planet. He didn’t understand how or why, but she was back to being herself. The sister he knew and loved. The sister who no longer needed him to protect her - he reminded himself of that. But still, she’d disappeared in his arms and he needed to know she was alright.

It made no sense. The code on her back with strange symbols he’d never seen before, Gabriel had put it into the Stone underneath his hut and then a storm had covered them. Hope, Charmaine Diyoza’s unborn child who was now a grown woman, had stabbed her. It was an odd exchange they’d had. The winds from the storm muffled their words so he could barely hear. But what he could make out was a conversation between people who were familiar with each other. But how was that possible?

The storm had now passed, but there was an eery feeling being in close proximity to what Gabriel called the Anomaly. Hallucinations were common around here, he’d had a few himself, similar to when the two suns on Sanctum eclipsed. He wiped his eyes, he didn’t have time to be upset anymore. He brushed the dirt off his pants and made his way back to the hut, his feet kicking up more dirt with every step.

Hope was lying on the operating table. Her eyes were open and Gabriel was trying to calm her down, though he wasn’t doing a good job at that.

Bellamy barged through and took the girl harshly by the shoulders. “Where is she?”

Hope’s eyes were wide open and she looked terrified. “I… I don’t know. Where is… who?”

He shook her again. “My sister.”

“I don’t know who that is.” She looked like a caged animal who was now free and unsure of where she was. “Where am I?”

Bellamy used his right elbow to push her down on to the table so she couldn’t move. “Don’t play stupid with me. You knew her name. She knew you.”

A hand appeared on his shoulder. Out the corner of his eye he saw Echo. He’d forgotten she was even here. “Bellamy, I don’t think she remembers.”

“It was only when the storm passed over us that Octavia’s memories came back,” Gabriel said. His eyes were darting around his hut, searching his drawings and research of the Anomaly over the years. “And when it receded, Hope’s memory disappeared. She doesn’t remember anything.”

Bellamy released his weight off the girl and stepped away. This poor girl didn’t know anything and he had been interrogating her. That wasn’t fair. “I’m sorry… I just…” He was pleading for some kind of an answer, “I need to find her.”

“And we will,” Echo said.

He pulled out of her grip. He wasn’t in the mood to be patient right now. “No, I need to find her _now_.”

“Bellamy,” Gabriel gestured towards Hope who looked even more terrified now by his raised voice, “no one has ever gone into the Anomaly and come out except for your sister. I need to figure out why that is before we go snooping around. We’ll find her, I promise we will.”

He wasn’t going to be able to get any information out of Hope, so Bellamy agreed to go back to Sanctum with Echo while Gabriel worked on trying to figure out what had happened.

He walked alongside Echo in silence, trying to process what had happened in the last few minutes. From the limited knowledge Bellamy had about memory, he knew that it can take years for it to come back. They didn’t have the time to wait. He and his sister had just begun to be back on the same page and then she was gone.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Echo said, breaking the silence. “She’s a warrior. Wherever she is she’ll fight fight her way back.”

He didn’t respond. That didn’t make him feel better. Nothing could.

“Bellamy, are you okay?” She stopped walking. He did too, but he couldn’t make himself look at her.

“I know this is bad timing,” he took a deep breath, and eventually met her eyes, “but this isn’t working.”

“What isn’t?” She attempted to take his hand but he pulled away, more harshly than he’d intended to.

His spread his arms out wide. “This. Us.”

Echo backed away and shook her head. She pointed a finger at him. “Your sister just disappeared, you’re not thinking—“

“I am,” he said. “We kept each other alive on the Ring, and I know I promised nothing would change on the ground but we both know it did.” He scrunched his hands into fists. He hated doing this. He hated being the one to have to say this. He hated making her feel this way. He hated himself for not doing this sooner.

“Bellamy…”

He felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. A combination of his sister going missing and guilt at leading Echo on for so long. “Go figure out who you are on your own. I’m sorry.”

Echo didn’t react in anger. He knew her very well from the years they’d been together, and he knew that she wouldn’t be the one to verbalise what they both knew was true. It had to be him. What they had was something special, but they’d known it would only ever be short lived. On the Ring, life was quiet and uneventful. Now, being back on the ground with the rest of their people, things couldn’t be the same. It was time, it had been a long time ago, to go their seperate ways.

Glancing at her every once in a while as they walked, Bellamy kept meaning to say something more to soften the blow but he couldn’t find the right words, so he said nothing at all. She looked lost and he wished he could take it back.

_No._ It was much better for the both of them to stop holding each other back.

\- ∞ -

Gabriel was left with Hope, who was staring at him like a lost puppy. “Just stay still, alright. I need to analyse the symbols on your face and figure out what they mean.”

He ran a finger lightly over her cheek and compared it to various cipher wheels he’d created over the years. He’d spent hundreds of years studying these symbols and still had not even scratched the surface of them.

She slapped his arm away and jumped up, causing his papers to fall onto the floor in a jumbled heap. She tilted her head, trying to study him. “Who are you?”

“A friend,” he replied calmly, putting his arms up to let her know he wasn’t a threat.

She still didn’t trust him and before he could grab her she ran out of the hut.

He grabbed his satchel and chased after her. “Hope!”

She was a fast runner, but she was unfamiliar with this place and was running around in circles. She ended up becoming trapped between a wall of trees. She was disoriented, as she should be, after appearing out of nowhere from the Anomaly. She turned towards the green cloud and stood still. It reflected magically in her eyes.

While she was entranced by its influence, Gabriel pounced on her and injected a sedative into her arm. She tried to fight but he held her tight until her eyes fluttered closed. He carried her back to the hut.

He examined her again. This time was easier without her resisting. The symbols he’d managed to decipher formed a unique alphabet, although it wasn’t in any way linear so it was difficult to get a clear read on.

As he turned her on her side he noticed blood trickling down her left hand. He pulled up the sleeve of her sweater and found a blood soaked bandage. He unravelled it and found a lump on her forearm. There was something lodged in there with hastily sewn up with stitches.

She was still unconscious but he gave her another sedative to ensure she wouldn’t wake up. After sterilising his equipment, he used the scalpel to undo the stitches and carefully pull the item out. A sharp intake of breath came through his clenched teeth as he wiped the blood off of it.

It was a vial with a rolled up letter inside.


	2. Chapter 2

The farmhouse was originally built by Russell for Simone. A place that reminded her of the farm she’d grown up in on Earth. It was huge. There were enough bedrooms for all of them. Niylah had taken first dibs and nabbed the master bedroom. Clarke didn’t mind, she was used to smaller rooms, and the room she and Madi had chosen reminded them of their home in Shallow Valley.

This was part of the truce they’d made with Russell, for what he had done to her mother. It would never make up for it, and Russell would be locked up indefinitely, but if they killed him, the believers would riot. Unfortunately they needed him alive to keep the peace.

Clarke settled onto the picnic blanket on the grassy hill, watching as Madi played with Picasso, throwing a ball which the dog then caught and brought back to her. It reminded her of when it was just the two of them on Earth. But even then Madi had never been as happy as she was now. She was thriving here on Sanctum.

Maybe this moon could be their new home. But first, they needed to build their new compound. With the way things were progressing, it would be at least three years until it was built. This was a nice place to live in the interim.

Of course, Madi would never be a normal kid. Wonkru still believed she was Commander. Gaia hadn’t had the heart to tell them the Flame was gone, and Indra was worried it would split them if they knew the truth. None of that was a concern to Madi, she was finally happy and living a somewhat normal life. Clarke wasn’t going to let this get in the way of that.

Jackson had done tests, on her bloods and brain function, and it all appeared fine. No side effects from having the Flame removed from her head. That gave Clarke peace of mind.

It was a warm day, and Clarke had shed her layers. She was wearing only a tank top, feeling the warmth of the sun on her bare skin was nice. After all the horror that had transpired the last few days, this was a nice respite where things felt calm. They’d decided to have a picnic outside on this gorgeous day to celebrate their first night in their new home. Miller handed her a napkin with half a cookie in it which Clarke happily nibbled on. The Workman’s at the tavern were nice enough to bring them over a batch of giant cookies this morning.

Although there had been some blame going around, specifically at Murphy for teaming up with Josephine and telling Russell about the nightblood, which is what led to her mother’s death, Clarke didn’t hold a grudge. What happened was tragic and the most evil, but it was Russell’s doing. No one here was to blame. Clarke made that known.

As they began to pack up all the food, Madi chased after Picasso down beyond the tree line at the bottom of the hill.

“Picasso!” she yelled. “Come back girl!”

The dog had run into the trees where two figures emerged, and Clarke immediately recognised them. Bellamy wasn’t looking great, she realised as she got closer. He was moping as he walked, and his hands were held out flat in front of him, which were caked with blood.

When his eyes meet hers he frowned.

“Your hands,” she noted, taking them gently. “What happened?”

“Octavia,” he croaked.

Worry then set in. She wasn’t with them. “Is she okay?”

Bellamy’s head shook involuntarily back and forth before a few tears spilled out.

“She disappeared,” Echo said, when it was clear Bellamy couldn’t continue on. “She’s not dead, as far as we’re aware.”

Clarke examined his hands. Not dead, that was a good thing. “Why is there so much blood?”

“She was stabbed,” Bellamy said through clenched teeth. But he didn’t say anymore so Clarke looked to Echo.

“It’s a long story,” Echo said. “I’ll let him tell you.”

Clarke took a step back, feeling she was intruding now. “Why don’t you go help him get cleaned up.”

Echo turned her attention to the picnic and food that was being cleared up. “You go.”

She was surprised to hear her say that. “You sure?”

She nodded before wandering off to the others and plopping down on the bare grass and grabbing some food, eyeing them both as she did. Clarke felt like she had gotten in the middle of something.

Clarke filled the sink in the downstairs bathroom with warm water and soap. She’d ordered Bellamy to sit on the edge of the bathtub as she rubbed the rag over his hands, scrubbing to get the dried blood off. It occurred to her she’d been in this situation before, but usually it was someone else cleaning her hands. Getting rid of the evidence of what she’d done.

“She disappeared in my arms,” Bellamy said. “Just… poof and then the Anomaly disappeared and she was nowhere to be found.”

“So let me see if I understand this correctly.” Clarke tapped her foot on the floor. "Hope, Diyoza’s unborn child, is now an adult. She appeared out of nowhere, stabbed Octavia, and then she disappeared?”

“It didn’t feel real. I thought I was hallucinating. But the blood…” The evidence was clear on his hands.

“I believe you.” She focussed on getting a tough bit of caked blood off his palm. “We’ve been through some crazy stuff since we left the Ark haven’t we?”

Bellamy’s sobs had stopped now and he gave a small nod. They sure had.

He was silent as she cleaned the rest of the blood off. Words had never been their strong suit, and Clarke was hesitating to ask the question she most wanted to ask him.

“Thank you,” he said, gesturing down at his now almost clean hands. “You’re good at this.”

“I have experience,” she said sadly.

Once she was done, Bellamy didn’t move for a while, simply staring down at his raw red hands. She sat down next to him on the edge of the tub. Her hips leant into his side.

She wasn’t sure how to say this but went ahead and spoke. “Is everything okay with Echo? She seemed more… distant than usual.”

Bellamy face scrunched up and he began wringing his hands together, as he did when he was nervous. “Things haven’t been great between us for a while. We should have ended things a long time ago.” His eyes met Clarke’s as he said the last sentence.

That meant they’d broken up, she presumed. When they’d come back to the ground, she was surprised to see them together. She didn’t know what they went through on the Ring for those six years and she was in no situation to judge, so she’d accepted it.

“Hey,” she said, placing her hand on top of his. “We’ll find Octavia. Together, okay?” His head perked up at that. “I just need to figure out what to do with Russell and how to keep the peace in Sanctum first. This place is broken, we need to put it back together. Any advice?”

“He killed your mother, Clarke.” His voice took on a dark tone. “What do you think he deserves?”

“To burn in hell,” she replied coldly. “But we’re above that. We can do better. We have to.”

He rubbed his hands together. “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing.”

She nodded, her eyes beginning to well up with tears at the thought of her mother. She hadn’t properly mourned her yet. She wasn’t good at this. When she loses someone, there was always something else going on. No time to breathe. Now was no different.

Bellamy took her right hand in his and his eyes gazed into hers for a moment, before they moved up to something behind her. Murphy was standing in the doorway.

He tapped the doorframe with his fingers. “Sorry to interrupt, but we really need to sort out the whole Russell thing.”

\- ∞ -

The red ball flew through the air in a high arc, striking against the pale blue sky, and then landed in the dogs mouth. Bellamy had only ever read about dogs in books, this was the first one he’d ever met. He could now understand the appeal of keeping one as a pet.

Picasso dropped the ball at his feet and he threw the saliva filled ball to Madi. She jumped as she threw it and the dog ran after it again. How simple it was to not have to think. To not have priorities. To just play and surrender to the moment.

But of course he was not granted that luxury, as much as he wished he could live only in this moment right now. He remembered back to when Octavia was Madi’s age, and they’d play lily pads together. This made him feel the same way. The freedom of being a child. But his mind was preoccupied with other things. Thinking about his sister right now only caused him to feel sad and frustrated again.

Madi threw the ball, a low one this time. It rolled along, fast, and Picasso followed it, her nose dragging along the ground.

While they waited for her to return, Madi turned to him. “Bellamy?”

“Yeah?”

She was focussed on him now, not taking any notice of Picasso who was fast approaching. “We told them the truth about the Primes, why do they still believe in them?”

This was a tricky thing to answer. “Madi, they’ve lived their whole lives believing in them. One new person telling them they’ve been wrong is a hard thing to swallow.”

She nodded, kneeling down to pet Picasso who had returned. She took the ball out of her mouth and gave a half-hearted throw that only landed a few feet away. “Now that I don’t have the Flame, Wonkru have no Commander. Maybe they’ll react the same way.”

This is something he didn’t want to get too deep into. Forcing the Flame on her, after he promised Clarke he’d protect her, is something he still felt deep regret about. “Yes. Maybe. Madi, this isn’t my field, you should talk to Gaia about these kinds of things.”

She fiddled with her fingers and glanced over towards the farmhouse where Gaia was standing on the porch, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed, watching them.

“But I failed her. She was my Flamekeeper,” Madi wasn’t paying attention to Picasso who had run back and dropped the ball at her feet, patiently waiting for her to throw it again.

Bellamy kneeled down and looked up at her. “Madi, you haven’t failed anyone. You’re a kid, you shouldn’t have to worry about any of this and I’m sorry that you’ve had to. You should go to school. Make some friends. Be a kid. That’s all you should have to worry about right now.”

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and nodded. Feeling bit better, she picked up the ball and threw it to Bellamy. He threw his arm back in a wide arch, and let the ball go. It landed over on the other side of the house.

Madi jumped and cheered. She gave him a high five. “Nice one!”

When Picasso returned, a few minutes later, Bellamy had a smug smile on his face. He could get used to this kind of free time.

As Madi was about to throw the ball again, she stopped with her hand in the air. Bellamy turned, and saw what had caught her attention.

Clarke had returned. Gaia was consoling her and she tried to put on a brave face for Madi, but Bellamy could tell something was up. She was holding a piece of fabric close to her chest.

Bellamy took her trembling hands. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, unable to make eye contact with him. “I…?”

“Clarke, what happened? What did Russell do to you?” Madi asked.

“Nothing, Madi,” she said, trying to force a smile. “I’m fine.”

Madi didn’t believe her and tried to protest, but Bellamy gently pushed her away.

“Go take Picasso inside.” Bellamy ushered her towards the door. “We’ll be in in a moment.”

Once she and Gaia had gone inside and were out of earshot, Bellamy spoke. “What did you do to him?”

She gave a chuckle. That was opposite of what Madi had asked her. She showed him her right hand which had some nasty looking purple and yellow bruises. “I punched him. It felt good.”

He didn’t condone violence, but he grinned. That bastard deserved it. “I bet it did.”

She looked down at the clothes she was carrying. “My mothers. He gave them to me. That’s what set me off.” She held up a necklace with a ring on the end and a sob escaped her mouth. “My mother’s ring. It’s all I have left of her.”

He comfortingly put his arms around her shoulders and led her down to a big tree at the edge of the property. He gestured to the soft soil underneath. There were paw marks where Picasso had been padded around, but she wasn’t the kind of dog who liked to dig. This would be safe.

Clarke would never get to bury her mother properly, her body was lost out in space, but they could at least say goodbye.

Bellamy dug a little well and Clarke placed the ring inside and brushed soil over the top. “I’m so sorry. I love you, mom. I’ll do my best to make you proud.” She pulled her mothers clothes up to her nose and breathed in the scent. She stayed like that for a few moments.

Bellamy wrapped his arm around her and she leant into him. Holding her, letting her trembles be absorbed into him. Taking some of the hurt away.

They both knew the Ark’s burial rituals - the _Travellers Blessing - b_ ut she was in no fit state to say the whole passage currently and settled for the ending of it. “May we meet again.”

“May we meet again,” Bellamy repeated.

Clarke snuggled her head into his shoulder. “It’s weird… having time to mourn. Usually it’s straight onto the next problem. The next war.” She pulled back, her eyes now bloodshot.

Tears began to well in Bellamy’s eyes too. “I hadn’t even processed the fact that Kane is gone too. He was the closest thing I had to a father.”

“This is a proper send off for the both of them.” Bellamy was facing away from her now, not wanting her to see him. Her words were making him weep. “Hey, he was so proud of you.”

“You do better today than you did yesterday.” He let the words settle, and then after a beat he said, “Something he said to me once.”

“Wise words to live by.” She was still holding onto her mothers clothes. It didn’t look like she wanted to let go of them, but she didn’t look comfortable with them either.

“You okay with those?” he asked.

“I don’t want to get rid of them yet.”

Back on the porch, Gaia greeted them. She’d been watching them, and was holding the Commander’s Box.

“Do you mind,” she said, looking from Clarke to Bellamy, “if I bury this under the tree too?” She slid the lid of the box to reveal the destroyed Flame they’d taken out of Madi’s head. Taking it out had saved her life, but it had been fried in the process. “It’s time to say goodbye. The time of the Commander is over.”

“Of course,” Clarke said, giving her friend a quick hug.

They watched as she buried the Flame. It was a somber experience, saying goodbye to that piece of technology. Bellamy knew how much it had meant to Clarke.

“So, how did it go with Russell?” Bellamy asked. “I mean, aside from punching him.”

“He’s going to have a bruised face tomorrow,” she chuckled. “He’s still locked up. The faithful want him freed, and the Children of Gabriel want him dead. Whether we keep him alive or kill him it’ll cause riots. I’ve left Murphy and Emori in charge of keeping the peace while we go find Octavia.” She paused, and a small smirk appeared on her lips. “They get to live in the palace.”

“I’m sure Murphy is happy about that,” he laughed. “How about the prisoners?”

“What you’d expect. Refusing to help build the compound unless we let them have _eighty_ percent of it.”

This compound, which is where they’d live permanently. Right now he didn’t even care if the prisoners got that much. Twenty percent for them, plus the farmhouse, would be more than enough if he was being honest.

“First thing tomorrow morning we’ll go find Octavia, okay?” Clarke said.

Bellamy nodded. At least he wouldn’t have to do this alone.

“Echo went back to Gabriel’s hut,” Clarke said. “Jordan went with her.”

He was surprised to hear that. “Jordan? Did he seem alright? Last time I spoke to him he seemed a little different.”

“Yeah, he was a little out of it. They did put him under the Red Sun toxin, we don’t know how long it takes for the effects to wear off.”

A pang of guilt pierced his chest. The last time he’d spoken to him, Jordan had assured him he was fine, but his eyes said otherwise. “I feel that I’m failing his parents. I haven’t been looking out for him as I should have.”

“Hey,” she said, taking his hand. “Octavia is our first priority, then we’ll check on Jordan and make sure he’s alright.”

——

After a meal of delicious soup cooked by Raven, they’d headed off to bed for the night. Bellamy had taken the smallest room upstairs, the only option left after everyone else had chosen theirs. It was first come first serve, and Bellamy had been the last to choose. Although it was still bigger than what they were all used to.

“I’ll be gone for only a few days,” Clarke reassured Madi. “Have fun at school. Make friends. And don’t forget to feed Picasso.”

Madi hugged her tight. “Octavia is a warrior. She’ll fight her way out.”

“I love you, Madi,” she whispered into her daughters ear.

“I love you, Clarke.” Then she pattered off and called for Picasso. “C’mon girl, time for bed.”

Clarke wasn’t too pleased about it, but Madi had insisted that Picasso sleep in her bed.

The house was quiet after everyone had gone to bed, but Clarke wasn’t tired yet. She sat at the kitchen table and put her face in her hands. It had been a rough few days.

“Clarke?”

Her head popped up to see Gaia entering the kitchen. “Gaia. Hey.”

She was holding something in her arms. “Could I discuss something with you?”

“Sure,” she replied.

Gaia had a notebook in her arms and placed it in front of her. Madi’s sketchbook. “She’s been drawing more. Take a look.”

Clarke had taught her back in Shallow Valley how to draw, but her drawings had never never _this_ detailed. There were things she recognised, such as the first time they met, with the bear trap. And lots of Earth. But there were things she never could have seen before, like the time Lexa had knelt before her.

“She’s still drawing memories that are not her own and they’re getting more… violent. I’m worried it’s too much for a girl of her age to be holding in her head.”

Clarke was distracted, trying to make sense of some of the things she’d drawn. “Jackson said her vitals all seemed normal. No excess discharge from the Flame.”

That didn’t comfort Gaia. “I just worry.”

Clarke’s fingers came to rest over hers. “I know, and I’m thankful for that. When I’m away, you’ll take care of her. I trust you, Gaia. I’m glad she has you in her life.”

“Of course I will. It’s strange, there’s never been a former Commander before. What is a Flamekeeper without a Flame? Mother says I have to find my own path now. But how do I do that?” She was searching for answers she knew Clarke couldn’t give her.

Faith could be strong and very hard to break free from. It could take some adjusting. This had been her whole world, but she’d chosen Madi and Clarke was eternally grateful for that. She did hope she could find her own path now.

Clarke stayed up, flipping through the sketchbook, until she began to feel sleepy. The images all blurred together and all it did was confuse her. There were images of fire, of people burning, and strange alien symbols. The memories of all the former Commanders, Madi should never had had them inside her head in the first place.

She hoped she could forge her own memories here and draw them instead.


	3. Chapter 3

Late afternoon sun filtered through the trees as Echo and Jordan made their way through the woods. Each footprint elicited a squishy sound from the soft ground they were trekking through.

“What’s your interest in coming out here?” Echo asked, glancing over at him.

She wasn’t mad that he had decided to come, she quite the enjoyed his company, though she’d never really had a conversation with him before. She’d been close with his parents, and it was quite strange having someone like them but not quite them.

“I’ve had visions and dreams about the spiral shape - the Anomaly. I want to know what it means,” he answered.

“Dreams?”

He had a satchel over his shoulder which he was swinging as he walked. The contents of it were clanging around inside. “That shape, and those foreign symbols, I see them when I sleep. I don’t know why or what any of it means, but I know I need to come out here to find answers.”

“Well I can’t promise things will be any clearer when we get to the hut.” She cocked her head. “All Gabriel’s research looks like nonsense to me.”

“Maybe it will make sense to me. In my dreams, I see peace. The end of war.”

Echo eyed him. The way he said that reminded her so much of his father. “You’re a lot like Monty. Always the peacekeeper, never resorting to violence. I could never understand but I always admired him.”

A smile appeared on Jordan’s lips. “No one’s ever talked to me about him. About what he was like before.”

He reminded her of Harper too. “And you have your mother’s smile.”

He smiled even wider at that. “They talked about you a bit.”

“Did they?” She raised her eyebrows. “Not good stories I assume.”

“Some good, some not so good. They spared me from most of the violent stuff.”

When they arrived at the hut, particles were densely floating in the gradually darkening sky and the sounds of the Anomaly rang through their ears.

Hope was awake, but she was struggling against Gabriel who was trying to hold her down. He was relieved to see them.

“I found this lodged in her arm,” he said, handing a blood covered scroll to Echo.

Hope started thrashing and yelling as he handed that over. “It’s _not_ for you to read! It’s not for you!!”

Echo unrolled the scroll and read the writing out loud, “For Bellamy.” She began to unfold it but Hope started screaming again.

“Don’t read it!! It says for _Bellamy_.”

Echo took a step back, letting the paper roll back up. “I won’t read it, okay? I’ll make sure he gets it.”

Gabriel struggled to hold Hope’s thrashing arms and legs stable. “I’ll keep trying to decode these symbols… if you would just stay still for a moment. Hope, please cooperate and we’ll be able to figure out a way to get you home— to wherever you’re from.”

Jordan wasn’t paying attention to them, he was enthralled by the drawings and symbols all over the the hut. “Incredible,” he breathed.

He stood beside Hope and examined her face. His face was right in front of hers, there was barely any space between them. She surprisingly kept still at his touch.

Gabriel let go and ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve been trying to get her to do that for the past _twenty_ minutes.”

“Echo, you go back,” Jordan didn’t look up while he spoke. “We’ll stay here. Get the letter to Bellamy.”

Hope’s eyes were now locked onto hers and she began thrashing again at the mention of Bellamy.

Gabriel pointed at her harshly. “Go. Echo. Please.”

She sauntered out. The strange girl didn’t like her, that much was as clear as day. She cursed herself at even coming back here. It didn’t help that the atmosphere surrounding this place made her feel lightheaded.

Once again, no one wanted her. No one ever wanted her around. Not even Bellamy anymore. Murphy and Emori had their own lives, Raven had her own important role in Sanctum, and she was the odd one out as she always had been.

The influence of that green ball of energy was much too overwhelming here and she wanted to get as far away as she could. Then she heard his voice.

“Who are you?” the voice said.

“Roan?” she whispered. She’d know that voice anywhere. “No.”

She turned towards the sound and he was there - King Roan, her former master. Azgeda warpaint covered his face and was standing tall, staring right at her. He looked like a ghost of the past illuminated by the glowing particles.

“Without Bellamy, who will you follow?” he asked.

“Shut up,” she murmured, crouching to the ground and covering her ears, trying to stop the sounds.

She looked up again, blinking her eyes, trying to make him disappear. She knew it wasn’t real. It was her imagination. So why wouldn’t he go away?

Another figure emerged from behind him, a young girl with an arrow protruding from her stomach.

“Answer the question, _Ash_ ,” her friend, Echo, said.

Roan taunted her some more. “Without someone to follow, who are you?”

The girl had empty eyes. “A girl who killed her only friend and stole her name?”

“The honourless spy who would do anything for her Queen, even betray the man she now claims to love?” Roan continued.

“No, no, no.” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make the voices stop. “ _Shut up!_ ”

It wasn’t real. It was all in her mind. She began to run through the brush, away from their voices. Avoiding her problems, that was what she always did. Pushing her fears away. Hiding the truth of who she was in this unbreakable outer shell.

She ran until they were a distant memory and the Anomaly’s influence was far behind her. She tried to catch her breath. Just as what she experienced during the Red Sun, what they’d said was true. It was her subconscious talking. Telling her things she wanted to erase from her mind.

Without Bellamy, who was she? Without someone to follow, who was she?

The honest truth was she didn’t know. She didn’t know and that terrified her. For so long her identity had been a spy and her Azgeda warpaint. Taking orders from others was what she did. It was all she’d ever known.

She’d tried to stay strong for so long. She’d hidden her true self and her emotions. But now, what was holding her back?

In her fall to the ground, the letter fell a few paces away. She grabbed it and unravelled it. She stared at the writing for longer than she needed to.

_‘For Bellamy’_

She rolled it back up and put it in her pocket for safekeeping. She would take this to him but then things were going to change.

No longer did she have a master. No longer was she a follower.

\- ∞ -

“Why did you come here?” Gabriel asked.

Jordan was looking at his drawings intently. “I’ve dreamt about these symbols. I keep drawing this spiral.”

That was intriguing to Gabriel. “So did I and Octavia and Diyoza. The Anomaly is calling to you as it did to us.” He noticed a bandage poking out from underneath his sleeve. “You were adjusted. So, you believe in the divinity of the Primes now?”

Jordan’s eyes looked tired, but his voice was firm when he spoke. “No, I know they’re just people. But I saw something under the influence of the toxin. I don’t know what it was or what it means.” He points to a drawing with spiral patterns all over it, one in a particular design. “I saw this. Russell said he created Sanctum in its image. What does it mean?”

He’d been studying it for years and still didn’t have that answer. “I don’t know. I have hundred of years of research and it’s gotten me nowhere.” Gabriel double checked his notes, hoping he was making some kind of progress on the mysterious Hope. He’d decoded some symbols, he thought, but it was all still a jumbled mess.

He’d only looked away for a moment, and when he looked back up, Hope was no longer there. Neither was Jordan.

“Hope!” he yelled, grabbing his satchel and running out of the hut.

He followed the footsteps and found her stopped at the edge of the clearing where the Anomaly was rolling dangerously close to her. She was staring in awe, and then her head snapped to the left, and her eyes welled up with tears.

The toxins, he knew. He particles in the air made you see you greatest fears, or deepest desires. For him, it was always Josephine, the source of both of them. It was stronger where they were now. He usually avoided getting this close.

He rustled in his satchel and found the anti-toxin and inhaled a deep breath. He wasn’t in the mood to see his demons right now.

“Mommy!” Hope said through tears. “Aunty O! Come back! Come back!!”

She was remembering. “The influence of the toxin, you’re remembering bits and pieces, aren’t you?”

She turned on Gabriel, pushing him back harshly. “Where are they? Where did he take them??”

Gabriel wasn’t entirely sure what she was talking about, and who ‘he’ was. But this sure was fascinating.

Jordan was off in a trance too, getting a bit too close to the Anomaly for his comfort.

Gabriel pulled him back. “Careful.”

Jordan’s eyes appeared to be possessed by something. “I have to go. I know I need to. All the signs I’ve felt and seen. _This_ is where I need to go.” He turned to Hope who was now looking at him wide-eyed. “Don’t we?”

She nodded and Jordan reached out and took her hand, which she allowed him to take. She looked over at Gabriel expectantly.

He glanced back at the hut, where the hundreds of years of research he’d done was bundled up inside. He couldn’t take it all with him. Research and all his papers were one thing, but to experience it first hand was something else. He was willing to take that risk. To give that all up for this opportunity. An opportunity to learn the truth.

“Wait!” he shouted, stopping them before they’d taken a step closer. There was obviously something funny with time going on, if Hope was anything to go by. “Even seconds apart we could be separated by months.”

He took Hope’s other hand, and the three of them walked through the Anomaly together, having no idea what would greet them on the other side.

\- ∞ -

An orange glow illuminated the horizon, and the low hum of the bugs waking up for the day buzzed in Clarke's ears. She sat on the front porch as she waited, relishing in the beautiful view. She had gathered guns from the basement this morning. One handgun and a rifle each. They had no idea what they were going to encounter where they were going.

Her head flicked back as the front door creaked open. Bellamy’s eyes were bloodshot. She’d heard him sobbing this morning.

As she handed Bellamy his weapons, he held something out toward her. “It’s from Octavia, Echo said it was found lodged in Hope’s arm.”

She skimmed over the blood soaked letter. “That means she’s okay?”

“I don’t know, it seems like it was written years ago. But how can that be? I need to…” He choked on his words. “We need to find her.”

“And we will,” Clarke reassured him.

When they arrived at Gabriel’s hut, the sun was well and truly peeking through the trees, reminding her of their days back at the Dropship on Earth. How magical everything was when they first landed on the ground. Things had changed a lot since then. They were on a moon light years away now.

“She said she understands,” Bellamy said out of the blue after a long silence. “Because of Hope, she understands what I went though with her. It appears that she raised her. I… I need to tell her it’s okay. I forgive her. She’s my sister and I love her. I have to tell—”

“You will,” Clarke said adamantly.

The door of Gabriel’s hut was wide open and the place was abandoned. Drawings were strung up, and many were covering the floor. They were full of strange symbols. It was different to how it was last time she was here when she’d almost died. When Bellamy had saved her.

“Jordan? Gabriel?” Clarke called out.

“I can’t see any trace of them,” Bellamy said, stepping inside after searching the perimeter. “Do you think they were captured?”

“I don’t know,” she said, biting her bottom lip and kicking some drawings on the floor. “Doesn’t look like there was struggle.”

Bellamy pulled the corner of the rug back, exposing a trap door. He opened it, crouching down and looking at her. “The Stone is down here.”

Clarke followed, Bellamy supporting her on her way down. He flicked a light switch on and the ancient artefact was illuminated with golden light. The Stone was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. It was levitating - it wasn’t being held up by anything - and a strange hum was coming from it.

“How?” she breathed, tapping on the artefact electing a hollow ringing that echoed around the room.

“Gabriel believes it was made by an ancient alien species.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Aliens?”

He laughed. “We’ve experienced some strange things in our lifetime, what more is aliens to add to the list?”

She rested her hand on the Stone and it almost purred at her touch. She pulled her hand away, she didn’t like that feeling. She circled the room and found some markings on the wall.

“C.B?” she said, turning back to Bellamy.

He ran his figures over the markings. “The person who put the Stone here?”

“Maybe.” Her fingers ran over his as she pulled them away and sparks went though her veins. She cleared her throat. “I don’t think they’re here.”

Bellamy stuffed his head in his hands. “Not only is my sister missing but now so is Jordan. We were supposed to _protect_ him. Monty and Harper… they asked us to take care of him.”

“Hey,” Clarke said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find them.”

The searched around the hut, going in seperate directions to cover more ground, looking for any trace of where they could be. The closer Clarke got to the Anomaly, the louder the sounds rang in her head. The radio calls, all 2199 of them, repeated over and over again, blurring into each other. All the messages. All the times she desperately wished Bellamy could hear them.

A snap came from the trees and she darted her body toward it, holding the rifle as steady as she could while trying to tune out the distracting hallucinations. “Bellamy?”

No answer. It must not have been him. Someone else was out here. Something crashed into her from behind and she fell face first to the ground. She craned her neck around but could not see anything despite feeling pressure on her back.

She swore she heard someone say, “I have her,” but it was probably only a hallucination like the radio calls.

She managed to angle her rifle around and shoot, blinding shooting at nothing. It missed anything of importance. The pressure was still on her back. She twisted her body as far as she could and shot again. This time, it made contact with something she couldn’t see. A grunt, and then the weight disappeared.

She rolled over and couldn’t quite believe her eyes. Surely she must still be hallucinating now? There was nothing, and then suddenly a figure appeared wearing a space suit and hexagonal helmet. The figure slammed to the ground and she heard a crack. She took a weapon, a ray gun it looked like, from the person’s arms. She examined the helmet and tried to figure out how it came apart, but it wouldn’t seperate from the suit.

Another loud snap. Darting her head around towards the trees, she aimed her gun and took a shot. It only hit a tree and bounced off.

The influence of the Anomaly was stronger now and things were bleeding together. It was hard to determine if what she was seeing was real. “Bellamy!” she tried. “If you can hear me… they’re invisible. I’ve killed one of them, I don’t know how many more there are.”

She heard a gunshot, hoping against all hope it was from him, and kept her eyes as focussed as she could on where the sound came from. Another quiet grunt, a few paces from her, and then a thump. She ran towards the sound and found another one of them dead on the ground. Bellamy appeared behind her. She looked up at him as she crouched next to the body.

He held a hand out and he nodded at the figure. “The particles in the air, look for empty space, that’s how I saw him.”

She let him pull her up and readied for attack. “They have weapons but they’re not shooting at us. Why?”

“They must want us alive.“ He stood back to back with her. “These toxins don’t make it easy.”

They certainly made this much harder. They circled around slowly, watching through the particles for any more invisible attackers.

“The Anomaly is more expanded than it was before after Octavia disappeared,” he observed, “meaning the hallucinations are more powerful.”

She found herself wondering what he was hallucinating. Was he seeing her, as she was seeing him?

“What does that mean? They’ve come through it from somewhere?” she asked.

“I think so.” He sharply turned, taking her with him as he did. “There. I think I see something… wait I can’t tell. The particles are too—“

His voice was cut off when Clarke was lifted from the ground and the wind was knocked out of her. She was carried away by an invisible force.

“CLARKE!” Bellamy reached out for her hand but only lightly touched her fingertips before she was on the move.

She kept her eyes on him. He was getting his gun ready, but then he lowered it. He wouldn’t risk shooting her, she knew that. She attempted to fight off her attackers grip, but it was too strong and her handgun was out of reach.

Bellamy was right behind her now and she reached her arm out but he was still too far away. She kept her arm outstretched as she glanced forward. She and her attacker were travelling along the perimeter of the Anomaly, to what appeared to be a smaller cloud of green.

She turned back to Bellamy whose arm was still outstretched. So close… He managed to grab onto her hand which slowed her attacker down.

“I got you,” Bellamy muttered, determined not to let his grip go.

Despite being slowed down, the person carrying Clarke kept running towards the green cloud which was now decreasing in size.

“Bellamy…” she said.

His voice came out strained. “Don’t worry, I’m not letting go.”

Her attacker kept moving, his suit must give him more strength than usual, and the three of them were pulled through the smaller Anomaly which then closed up around them.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel was the first to emerge from the water. The lake was deep and tinged with green and he could see jellyfish as he swam. He coughed up the water he’d swallowed and caught his breath. The Anomaly was underwater.

He searched for the others as he tried to keep himself afloat. A few feet away, Hope’s head bobbed up.

“Hope, are you okay?” he asked as he approached her.

She seemed different. She was no longer the lost puppy she was back on Sanctum. “We gotta get to shore.”

She began to swim. She was confident and she had good posture. She was comfortable here in the water. As he turned around in circles, he couldn’t see anything else but the bluish green water.

He pulled her back. “Wait, where’s Jordan?”

After a few minutes of searching, they found a dark figure just below the surface. A hand reached up and then went back under. Hope swam over, faster than Gabriel could follow, and took his hand.

As soon as his head was above the surface he took in deep breaths and coughed. His face was pale. He wasn’t comfortable out here.

“I got him,” Hope said, pulling Jordan along as she confidently swam towards the shore.

Gabriel followed, falling quite a bit behind. In his defence, he did have his satchel which was quite heavy. He wasn’t expecting to go swimming in the ocean today. Hope was experienced, he’d expect nothing less from the daughter of a former navy seal.

Hope helped Jordan sit up and cough up the water he’d swallowed. “Hey, hey, there you go.”

Jordan spluttered, getting as much salt water as he could out of his system. “Thank you…” He looked at her. "Sorry. I grew up on a spaceship. I never had the chance to learn how to swim.”

“Lucky I was here to save you then. Jordan, right?” she said, wringing water our of her matted hair.

He smiled as he watched her. “Yes. Hope, nice to meet you… officially.”

“You remember,” Gabriel stated.

She met his eyes and said plainly, “Travelling to a planet where time moves slower causes memory loss, but the reverse restores it.”

“Wait, wait, wait?” Gabriel said, throwing his arms behind his head and looking up, his eyes settling on the ring in the sky. “We’re on another planet?”

She stood up, helping Jordan up with her. “Welcome to Skyring. My home.”

“Skyring,” Jordan said, looking up at the view in awe. “Great name.”

She looked proud of herself. “I named it when I was three.”

Gabriel grabbed Hope’s arm, where the bloodied bandage was still there. She watched as he unravelled the bandage to find her arm completely healed.

She shrugged. “Time dilation. When Octavia first arrived her arm was healed too.” She smiled to herself. “That was right before I was born. She helped deliver me.” Then she frowned. That must have brought up some painful memories.

Gabriel was beginning to piece it all together now. The time dilation, why Octavia didn’t remember _anything_ , let alone the tattoo on her back.

“Keep up,” Hope said as she began to run into the forrest. “I need to get to the homestead. I was on Sanctum for about a day. Given the time differential it’s been hundreds of years since I was last here. I need to see…” She turned back to Gabriel and Jordan who were a fair way behind and shouted, “Well, I don’t exactly have a plan. Good news is we have time to come up with one.”

A small homestead met them up ahead. An overgrown garden sat out front, with a handmade arch along the path. Inside the small wooden structure was an open living area that looked as though it had been untouched for years.

All these new revelations were running through Gabriel’s mind as he tried to make sense of it. “So the Anomaly is a wormhole? Connecting Sanctum and Skyring together?”

“It’s called the bridge. There are four other planets, too,” she said. “All connected by Stones.”

This was all so fascinating to him. “A bridge between worlds. That’s what Anomaly is. Six planets. What are the others?”

“The only other one I know of is Bardo, which is where my mother and Octavia were taken.” She was rummaging around the room, searching for something. “Octavia escaped and Anders said if I tagged her and brought her back, he’d let my mother live. That is where we need to go. To make sure he kept his word.”

“That knife you stabbed her with was a locator tag?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes, it transported her back to Bardo. I wasn’t trying to kill her. It’s gotta be in deep or they could end up inside out… or something. He promised they would both live if I did what he said. Octavia understood.” She found what she was looking for - a key.

“Octavia _understood_?” Gabriel asked.

“My mother, my responsibility. I did what I had to do. The bridge on Sanctum leads here, and the one under the water leads to Bardo. That’s how they knew we were here. That letter you found lodged in my arm, Octavia spent _six_ years trying to get back to her bother by reaching the pretty lights at the bottom of the lake. Eventually she sent the letter down in a bottle.” A sad expression took over her face. ”That’s how they knew we were here.”

“Octavia was here for _six_ years?” Gabriel asked, doing the math. “She was gone for seconds on—“

“Octavia was here for _ten_ years,” Hope corrected. “I was here for twenty.”

She pulled back the corner of a rug on the floor, unlocked the trap door, and lifted it up. “But there is a way to control it which the Disciples, the people on Bardo, are experts at.”

She jumped down to the basement and they followed her down. This cave was almost identical to the one under Gabriel’s hut, and there was a Stone identical to the one on Sanctum.

“The Stones are connected,” Gabriel breathed. “Each one has a unique code.”

Hope lit a log to illuminate the dark room. “Yes. If you have the code for the planet you can be transported there.”

He ran his fingers over the Stone. “Like the one on Octavia’s back?”

“No, that was for me. Every mind has its own unique code. A biometric…”

Gabriel smiled. All this science was getting him excited. “Signature. A consciousness code.”

“So when you put mine in on Sanctum, you pulled me over. And when I tagged Octavia, I sent her back.”

“Incredible,” he breathed. He made his way over to the wall. Symbols were covered all over it. Years and years of study just as he had done. Whoever drew them was trying to decode what they all meant. He stopped when he found initials carved into the wall. C.B. The same initials were next to the Stone on Sanctum.

“I don’t have the codes, so unless you have any insight,” she directed at Gabriel, “we’ll have to wait until a prisoner arrives. That’s what Dev and I did. But he… I failed that time. If you two help me, I promise you I won’t fail again.”

Gabriel held his hands up. “Whoa, slow down. _Prisoner_?”

“The Disciples call this planet Penance. They use it as a penal planet.” She winked at Jordan. “Skyring is a much cooler name. Because this is located furtherest away from the black hole, time moves fastest. Meaning they can send someone here for a prison sentence in a day or so. Very efficient.”

All this news was overwhelming to Gabriel. “These Disciples, they have control over all the planets? Why did they never come to Sanctum?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Look, I wasn’t on Bardo for very long—”

A crash came from up above and Hope dropped the torch and rushed up the ladder. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, but Hope knelt down to the fire and moved it around. Sparks flew up. It had only just been put out.

“Someone’s here,” Hope said.

The door to the closet was slight ajar, a shadow painted across the hard floor. It opened and a man with dishevelled hair that covered his face jumped out. He was wearing ripped ratty clothes and had a knife which he was slashing around at nothing in particular. His eyes landed on a handmade doll with a skull for a head.

“Hope,” he said, not to the person, but to the doll. “I’m sorry, I’ll come back for you!”

Hope grabbed his arm as he ran out of the homestead, but then let him go. She smiled at the others.

Gabriel had seen it too. “The numbers on his arm were counting down.”

“That’s how much time his sentence has left. Five years. That’s how long we have. When it hits zero, the Disciples come for him. We kill them, take their suits and jump to Bardo to rescue my mother and Aunty O.”

“Kill them?” Jordan asked. “Surely there’s another way.”

“There’s not,” she said, not making eye contact with him. “Now he had twelve symbols on his face meaning he’s a Level 12. That’s the highest level. Dev was a Level 7 and easily turned. This one might take a bit more work. Good thing we have five years to prepare.”

Jordan didn’t look too happy about that. “Five years?”

She folded her arms and looked to the both of them. “You got a problem with that? No one will miss you on Sanctum. It’ll be a blink of an eye for them.” She wandered to the garden, which had been neglected, but it wasn’t completely dead. “We need to grow some food if we’re gonna survive here for that long. Him too. From the looks of it, he’s been surviving on jellies alone, if he keeps that up he won’t survive another five years.”

Jordan pulled out an overgrown weed from one of the beds. “I can help out with the garden.”

——

Hope lead the way as they followed his footsteps in the dirt discreetly. They needed to work on getting the prisoner on their side.

“Not bad for a prison,” Jordan said, running his hand along the tree trunks.

As Hope had said, they only send one prisoner at a time. Isolation was the prison. Solitary confinement. Gabriel thought it was a smart system they had going, if not entirely ethical.

Jordan walked side by side with Hope. “Have you dealt with these prisoners before?”

“One, yes. Everyone on Bardo is raised to be a Disciple. They’re all warriors. Fortunately, they send people here who aren’t pulling their own weight. Who aren’t devout enough. Or strong enough.” She turned behind to glance at Gabriel. “That is in our favour. They’re not the strong ones. They can easily be turned, usually.”

A little picnic area is where they found him. He'd made a makeshift chess board and was playing a game with himself. There was a circle of decomposing skeletons surrounding him.

A sob escaped from Hope as she crouched down to one of the bodies. She ran her hand down its jacket. “Dev.”

Gabriel gagged into his sleeve. The smell here was atrocious. Maggots were running all over the bodies and he hoped he didn’t ingest any.

The prisoner rushed to the body of Dev and pushed Hope out of the way.“Go away!” he said, throwing his arms in their direction. “I didn’t invite them here,” he said to his dead friends, “I swear it.” Then, to them, “I _didn’t_ invite you.” He continued talking madness. “They broke into our house. I tried to save Hope. But I couldn’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorr—”

“Hey,” Hope said. “ _I’m_ Hope. I grew up here.” She placed a hand on her heart. “Dev was my friend. He was my friend.” He eyed her carefully. “We can be friends too, if you’d like?”

The man considered that and then went back to playing chess with himself.

Hope converged with the others. “Good start, don’t you think? I think we can earn his trust. We have time.”

One of the bodies caught Gabriel’s eye. On the jacket was a name… COL— was all he could see.

“Colonel?” Jordan suggested.

“No,” Gabriel said. “I recognise this uniform. Colin, last name Benson. He was on the Eligius III mission, sent to Planet Beta.” He stood up, twirling around. "Oh my god. We’re on Planet Beta.” He reached around the back of Colin's skull and squinted as he tried to find something. “C.B, the initials next to the Stone. The same initials next to the Stone on Sanctum.”

“He arrived on the Eligius III ship,” Jordan said.

“And then travelled here through the bridge.” Gabriel found what he was looking for and pulled a mind drive out of the skull. “Precisely.”

Jordan’s mouth opened wide and his hand went to the pocket of his jeans. “A mind drive. How?”

“Everyone on the Eligius mission had one. Becca Franko designed them as memory drives to be a data retrieval system, like an airplane black box, so if anything happened to the team they’d be able to see what what wrong. Russell and I reverse engineered the tech to hold an entire mind.”

“You’ll be able to see his memory?” Hope asked. “If you can see his memories, we might find the code.”

“And we won’t have to stay here for five years,” Jordan said.

The prisoner was quiet, they all realised then. He was staring at them. Listening to their conversation, although it was doubtful he understood any of what they were talking about.

“Hey,” Hope said to him. “We can all have dinner tonight if you’d like. Jellyfish, your favourite.” She turned to the others. “That’ll be our only option until the garden is ready for harvest.”

He didn’t respond and went back to his game. The offer was out and if he wanted, he could come.

Back at the homestead, Gabriel was thankful he’d had the mind to bring his satchel with his tablet in which could import the mind drives. He just hoped it hadn’t gotten water damaged on their expedition here. It switched on, thankfully. They were designed to be hardy.

He’d kept Josephine’s mind drive, needing to make sure she was really gone. Though he hadn’t had a chance yet. And in all honesty, he’d been putting it off. He knew that it was unlikely, but after everything he still couldn’t let her go.

The tablet began to repair the corrupted data on the drive.

“What are the odds Eligius III chose two planets connected by Anomaly Stones?” Jordan asked.

Gabriel smirked, this was exciting news. “I’d say it’s not a coincidence. The people on Bardo most likely descended from Eligius as well.”

The tablet beeped and Becca Franko, the genius scientist, appeared on the screen. The feed was jumpy and cut in an out. “Dr. Benson,” she said, “blink if you can hear me.”

“Becca?” Gabriel’s face broke out into a smile. “God, I had a crush on her.”

"The procedure was a success. We'll remove the breathing tube in a moment. How do you feel? Good. The implant will start collecting your memory now. If you die out there, my face will be the first that the follow team sees. I envy you. You are going on the greatest adventure in the history of history. Lightbourne, the pompous ass, thinks that Alpha is the one. He's afraid that Beta's too far from the black hole relative to the others, but if you ask me, time dilation is sexy as hell. You'll get to the future faster. Don't go anywhere.”

Hope was getting impatient. “Can you fast forward, see if you can find the code?”

“Shhh,” he silenced her. “Let me watch. You and Jordan go off and work on the garden or collect jellyfish or whatever. I’ll tell you if I find anything.”

——

Gabriel eventually emerged from the cabin, slightly defeated. Not that he’d complain about watching Becca and his fellow comrades adventures on this planet, but he’d learnt nothing new. Just like him, Colin had spent years studying the symbols, trying figure out how to power the Stone.

“Colin was the sole survivor of the transport that crashed here. He found he Stone by tracking the radio interference and built the cabin above it,” he told Hope and Jordan.

Gabriel was very impressed by what Colin done. He’d used an underground vibration sensor and stethoscope salvaged from the wreckage to measure tiny fluctuations in the Stone.

“Do you have the code?” Jordan asked.

He shook his head. “That’s the bad news. The drive is corrupted, I can’t see any further than maybe four years into his time here. He hadn’t got the code at this point.”

“Is there any way to repair it?” Hope asked.

He held up Josephine’s mind drive. “Working on it. If I can transfer the data onto a blank memory drive… maybe. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“So, five years it is then,” Jordan huffed. He didn’t seem to chuffed about being stuck here.

Hope, on the other hand, was quite elated at this news. “That’ll give me time to teach you two how to fight.”

“I don’t want to fight,” Jordan said, dropping the hoe he'd been digging with. “Why do we have to fight?”

She stood up tall, towering over him by a few inches. “You think if we ask nicely the Disciples will give us their suits?”

“I just mean… We turn ourselves in,” Jordan said.

She turned back, and picked up the hoe, holding it semi threateningly. “That is not going to save my mother and Octavia.” Her face right in front of his now. “We have _five years_ to prepare us to jump into the middle of a fortress. We have _five years_ to earn his trust.”

“Guys,” Gabriel cut in, interrupting their bickering, holding the memory viewer up high, “that means we need the garden up and running as soon as possible.”

\- ∞ -

Jordan wasn’t sure why he’d even kept it. Priya’s mind drive. He’d been debating what to do with it ever since. He knew Delilah wasn’t in there.

After seeing that Gabriel had kept Josephine’s, and it may give them a way off this planet, he decided to give it to him as a back up. Maybe that could help repair the data.

Gabriel had already attempted with Josephine’s with no luck. He thanked Jordan for the mind drive, and said he’d try another method to repair it, but he didn’t seem hopeful.

Jordan found Hope outside in the garden, which after having spent the day weeding it, was beginning to come together.

As he approached, she wiped her eyes. She’d been crying.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she responded. He noticed she no longer had the jewellery around her head.

“You know, it’s okay, you can talk to me. We’ve had similar upbringings. You were raised alone on a planet, I was raised alone on a spaceship with no one but my parents. I don’t have any friends, I don’t even know how to make friends.”

That got a smile out of her. “We did good work today. Tomorrow we’ll plant the seeds and in a few weeks we’ll hopefully have our first harvest. In the meantime, jellyfish it is.” His face soured at that. “Not a fan, I take it.”

He smirked. “My dad’s algae is better. Sorry.”

She gaged at that. “Algae. Yuck. Jellyfish can be an acquired taste. You’ll get used to it.”

He grinned. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Well, then you can starve until we have a harvest.”

The stars glowed overheard with the silver outline of the ring in the distance. It was beautiful and peaceful. It reminded him of being back up in space.

Hope began weeping and he hesitantly patted her back. He wasn’t good with comforting people. He’d never really been around many people. This was all new to him. Yet what he was doing seemed to work because suddenly her arms were wrapped around his.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I need to get them back.”

He could feel her pain. This emptiness inside her heart. “I know what it’s like to lose the people you love most. You’ll get through it.”

She stayed there, silently sobbing into his chest and then she spoke. “I know you don’t want to learn to fight.” She pulled away, looking at him. “At least let me teach you self defence so you won’t be completely useless.”

Jordan was willing to agree to that compromise. No harm in learning to defend himself. That brought her spirits up.

“Thanks,” she said. “It’s nice to… have someone to talk to. Or not talk to.” She was stumbling over her words now. “Just… thanks. I’m glad it’s you I’m stuck with here.”

Jordan took that as a compliment.

——

“Stand,” Hope said, demonstrating her stance, “like this.”

Jordan copied her as best as he could. It wasn’t a natural stance for him, and he found his legs spreading wider than they were supposed to.

She was getting impatient and grabbed his leg, kicked his right foot, and nearly made him fall over. This wasn’t helping.

“I’m no good at this,” he grunted as he dusted his hands off.

Hope huffed and gave up focusing on him. “Fine.” She moved onto Gabriel. She caught him off guard and he was knocked to the ground in an instant.

They’d been at it for two months already, though still things were stagnant. Jordan was getting nowhere. He’d convinced himself he didn’t want to learn to fight. Self defence, he’d agreed to. But fighting, watching Gabriel and Hope bickering as they did, was not what he wanted. Seeing their hits, the bruises that would show in a few days, that wasn’t him. He wanted no part of it.

The garden had began to flourish. They had fresh vegetables and berries to eat. Jellyfish was still their primary source of fuel, and despite Hope’s words of reassurance, he did not get used to the taste and texture.

They hadn’t had much luck with the prisoner. He’d stayed a fair distance away. They had left food out front of the cabin for him, and he took it and ate it, watching them from the trees. He hadn't joined them for a meal yet.

During a training session a few weeks later, Hope lunged a knife towards Gabriel. They’d moved onto using weapons now. He deflected, blocking with his elbow, and then moved away, his hand getting a blunt cut from the knife in the process.

“Ah!” he groaned.

“You’re dead,” Hope said, pointing the knife at him.

“I’m not dead, I’m invisible!” he retorted. “You wouldn’t know where to cut me if you can’t see me!”

“ _No_ you’re not. I cut the power to your suit here,” she pointed at the left arm, where his cut was, “meaning you’re _not_ invisible anymore.”

Gabriel put his hands on his head and began to walk off, but then stopped.

The prisoner was standing there, his arms crossed as he observed their dismal training session.

Hope ignored him. “Let’s go again. We’ve almost got it.”

“We don’t,” Gabriel mumbled, but got into his defensive stance again.

They went again. Jordan stood in front of the prisoner, who was watching intently. Gabriel got cut again.

He shook his hand, grumbling. “Hope, seriously! If you keep beating me I’m not going to learn anything.”

“He’s right,” the prisoner said. The first time he’d spoken to them in a full statement, it had only been mumbled random words so far. “They’re highly trained soldiers. You,” he said, directing his gaze at Hope, “you’ve been trained.”

“Dev,” she said. “A Level 7. He trained me for ten years.” She focussed on his face, silently counting. “Twelve symbols. You’re a Level 12.”

“Yes,” the prisoner confirmed.

“Think you could help train us then?” She gestured to her friends. “These two are hopeless.”

“Help you train to kill my people?” He was surprisingly well spoken for someone who had been alone for years.

“No,” Jordan said at the same time Hope said, “Yes.”

Jordan stepped in front of Hope and spoke to the prisoner politely. “We don’t want to kill anyone if we don’t have to. Train us to disarm and wound, not kill.”

“We need to get to Bardo and your absolution day is our only hope,” Hope pleaded.

He considered their proposition. “You’ve done that before? With the L-7?”

“Yes,” she said. “And I failed. This time I promise you I won’t.”

——

Jordan’s self defence skills improved slightly over the next few months. They trained everyday, not making much progress but at least he wasn’t completely helpless. Hope continually got frustrated with him, wondering why he wouldn’t just learn to fight.

The prisoner came over for dinner most nights and he was happy to tell them about his life on Bardo. Orlando was his name, and he was a Level 12 Disciple. The highest level there is.

He talked about someone named the Shepherd, the person who delivered them to Bardo. That didn’t exactly fit with the theory that they were descended from Eligius III. Jordan was fascinated with this Shepherd figure, as was Gabriel. Hope, not so much. She just wanted her loved ones back.

Orlando was sent here as punishment for refusing to take a day of rest. Something so minor, Jordan couldn’t comprehend why they would get a ten year sentence for refusing to rest.

One day, as Jordan had completed harvesting some vegetables and was taking them inside, he stopped outside the door. He could make out some of the words and knew that tone of voice. Orlando was praying.

“In the light of the Shepherd for all mankind, he will save us from the war—”

Jordan stepped in, fascinated by his prayers. Orlando jumped up from where he was kneeling on the floor and stopped what he was doing when he saw Jordan crying a basket of vegetables in the doorway.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Jordan said, placing the basket of plants form the garden. “Our harvest for today. A heavy pumpkin,” he said, lifting it up in his arms. “Thank you for planting those seeds.”

Orlando didn’t say anything and didn’t make a move.

“The Shepherd—“ Jordan started after there was still no response from him.

Now he spoke, “Don’t say his name!”

“Sorry. Would you tell me a bit about him?” Jordan asked.

“He is our salvation. He will lead us in the final war. The war to end all wars.” He spoke as though he’d recited those words countless times.

“The war to end all wars,” Jordan repeated. Could there really be such a thing?

That night, as Jordan was watching the stars in the sky, something dropped into his lap. Orlando was standing over him.

“The Shepherd’s Passage. Everything about him and our cause is in there,” he said.

Jordan ran his fingers over the raised golden title of the book. “Thank you.”

“You’re different,” Orlando said. “You don’t want to fight like Hope does.”

He flicked through the small book. “No, I’d prefer not to resort to violence.”

“I feel the same. Though there is no harm in learning,” he said. “We’re taught from birth to become soldiers. It doesn’t mean we ever wish to use those skills.”

Orlando’s ideals were aligned with his and he agreed to let him teach him how to fight. He learnt to fight back, and to disarm. Hope was proud of him. He had those skills now although self defence still was his preference.

——

The remaining years seemed to fly by after that. They had a set routine and had found their groove here. Each morning they’d get up, have a nutritious breakfast, and then start training. Fighting, with or without weapons. Swimming, to increase muscle mass. All the meanwhile figuring out a precise plan for when it was time to go.

At the end of each day, Jordan was exhausted. His favourite way to spend his downtime was lying underneath the stars and reading the only book he had.

“Light reading?” Hope asked, settling down next to him in front of the fire, snuggling closer to escape from the cold. “Don’t tell me you believe that crap.”

“It’s incredible,” he said. And truly it was. He’s learnt so much in the past few years. He’d read this book countless times and every time he learnt something new. “Their Shepherd—“

“A false god,” she said. “Gabriel told me all about Sanctum. You said you didn’t believe in the Primes anymore, so why do you believe in this Shepherd?”

He held it tightly in his hands. “I don’t know what I believe. Hope, there is evidence in this book. Proof.”

“It’s a _book._ ” She took it out of his hands and bent the pages too much as she opened it up. He winced. “A work of fiction, like the Iliad or Hercules.” The way she pronounced ‘Hercules’ was incorrect but he didn’t point that out.

“The Disciples believe in what they call transcendence. A higher state of being where they will be at peace. That is what they’re fighting to get to,” he said.

She threw the book a few feet and Jordan didn’t move to pick it up. He liked being close to her, even if he was a little infuriating right now.

“It’s bullshit,” she said. "Wait until you actually see Bardo. They’re grown in labs and brainwashed. They’re taught to abolish love and have no connections. They don’t even have parents. Can you imagine not growing up with your parents?”

He couldn’t. They'd taught him everything to prepare him for life.

“It’s no way to live,” she finished.

“The end of war,” he said. He ran his hand lightly over her cheek and her eyes fluttered closed. “Can you imagine that, Hope? All the stories my parents told me, they tried to spare me the details, but what happened to them was horrible. I wish for no one to ever have to go through anything like that again."

Hope leaned into his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her. She was a good person. A good friend. He wished no ill on her. He only wished her happiness.

His eyes fell back onto the book. That book had become his salvation. He absorbed the words and found himself saying the Shepherd’s Prayer to himself each night before he went to sleep.

_In the shadow of the Shepherd, for all mankind, he saved us from the fire that consumed the Earth._

_In the light of Shepherd, for all mankind, he will save us from the war to end all wars._

——

Hope and Jordan were out in the clearing watching the stars after a long day of training. “Hope, I don’t know if we’re going about this the right way.”

She stiffened. “He’s a Level 12, that’s the top level. Hardcore. The Disciples are a cult, Jordan. They’re grown in embryo labs. They have no parents, no family. They’re forbidden from forming selfish bonds. From love.”

“But this final war, to end all wars. Isn’t it worth it if that’s what it leads to?”

Hope cocked her head and moved towards him. “You’d really give up your friends and family…” Her fingers intertwined with his. “You’d really give up _this_?”

Without warning, her lips crashed into his. It was sloppy, she didn’t have much experience, but then again neither did he. She pulled away, looking at him expectantly.

It wasn’t the first time they’d tried this. Every now and again they made out. When they were bored and nothing else to do, when the stars were shining particularly bright. Gabriel knew what was going on but didn’t mind. It was nice, having someone that meant this to him.

“It’s a good argument,” he said before leaning back in to kiss her.

They kissed for a while, then her eyes went distant. She could tell he wasn’t fully immersed in the moment. There was something else on his mind.

“Isn’t there another way?” he said.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “ _No_. This is the only way to save them.”

“Violence isn’t the answer, all that does is lead to more violence and another war. The fighting never stops.”

“They took away my mother and Aunty O. They took away my family! They need to pay for that.” Her eyes got dark. He didn’t like it when she got like this. “I don’t want a war, I want _vengeance!_ ”

Jordan leaned back. “What’s the difference?”

“Are you serious?” She stood up and crossed her arms. “You think I should let it go? Let them get away with what they did with no repercussions?”

He tried to take her by the shoulders but she pulled away. “Hope, I know you’re upset but this isn’t the way.”

She was crying now. “This is how I get them back. This is the _only_ way. And if you don’t want to be a part of it, fine, you can stay here and die alone and no one will come back for you. It’s your choice.”

“Hope—“ he said.

She didn't want to hear any of it. “I’m going for a run.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” he protested.

She threw her arms up, clearly very annoyed with him. “It’s not like I’ll be attacked, no one else is here. And you’ve made sure I won’t get lost. Green is good right?” She said it in a mocking tone.

She was referring to the green moss handprints he’d put on the trees, as a path. Follow them and it will lead you back home.

Jordan was concerned about her. She was getting more angry, more violent, by the day. By the hour, really. She was lonely. Deeply lonely just as he was. But now they had each other and that should have been enough.

But it wasn’t. It didn’t fill that hole in heart. He understood her anger and wished he could help her.

Gabriel’s voice surprised him when he went back into the homestead. “Trouble in paradise?”

He looked down at the book. He didn’t go anywhere without it. “We’re just friends… with differing views.”

“Friends huh? Do you stick your tongue down the throat of all your friends?” He cocked his head, and Jordan looked at the window, releasing he had the perfect view to their little show.

“She doesn’t understand that fighting, anger, is only going to bring more of it. It won’t bring her peace.”

Gabriel yawned and closed down his tablet. “Look, Jordan, I’ve been alive a long time and I respect your views, but it’s not easy to see things that way when she’s only seen horror and pain.”

He knew deep down he was correct. Maybe the best thing was to leave it. She had to deal with things in her own way.

——

On the eve of Orlando’s absolution, Jordan volunteered to cut everyone’s hair, which had become overgrown and difficult to maintain over the years. He’d had experience with his parents, each taking turns cutting the others hair on the mothership. He loved Hope’s long hair, but she wanted it short. Better for a soldier, she’d said.

He cut it carefully with light touches, letting it delicately fall to the floor. He trusted Hope to then cut his, which had grown down to almost his shoulders. She left some uneven parts. Her hands were unsteady but she was determined to do it herself. He fixed it up himself in the mirror. Orlando painted the the twelve markings on each of their faces.

Orlando had changed, just as Hope said Dev had. He’d lived his whole like believing something with his whole heart, but these years with them had changed him. Jordan knew that was the power of human connection.

“We’re all in agreement, right,” Jordan said, directing his words specifically at Hope. “We knock them out, not kill them, and take their suits.”

She looked down, twirling her fingers in her short hair. “Right.”

They were ready when the bridge opened up, the green cloud expanding from the lake. Four Disciples came through. They were’t invisible. Yet. They called for Orlando.

They used their time well. Attacking, and in the case of Jordan, defending. Their training came in handy. They managed to get the four Disciples down efficiently. All with five minutes to spare.

Once they each had a Disciple suit and helmet on, they were ready to go. The bridge was still open. The fallen guards began to stir and Orlando hesitated before looking away and putting the helmet on, nodding at Jordan.

They’d stuck to the plan, just as he’d asked. Wound, not kill.

The four of them linked arms and walked through the bridge. Upon arriving in an eternally white room, they were promptly pushed to their knees and their helmets removed. Guards filled the room and took them all in seperate directions.

They never saw Orlando again.

\- ∞ -

Immediately after the fugitives arrived from Penance, the prisoner was left in the Stone Room for Anders to question.

A Level 12, the most loyal of their soldiers, was the perfect choice. Dev, a Level 7, was too easily swayed by love for the girl. The girl who had proven much more trouble than they had anticipated. They were prepared for their arrival this time and locked them up immediately.

Refusing to rest was a petty crime, but the Disciples were taught to take whatever punishment they were handed. Orlando had done his job exceptionally well. Spying on them, retrieving information about who these people were and where they came from. Getting them that much closer to the war that will end all wars.

Orlando was on his knees, looking up pleadingly at Anders. “I hope I have pleased the Shepherd.”

“You have, Disciple Orlando. Jordan is the perfect recruit, and we are now on the brink of the final war.” Anders gave an unsettling smile, before pulling a gun out and aiming it at the prisoners temple. “For all mankind.”

Orlando closed his eyes and put his hands together in a praying stance. “For all mankind.”

Anders pulled the trigger and Orlando’s body fell to the ground. Blood pooled out onto the reflective floor. He left the room, leaving his limp body underneath the Stone. Someone else would clean up and dispose of him properly.

“The key is on Sanctum,” he told the conductor. “Send a team to retrieve her.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bellamy’s head spun as they went on a dizzying journey through the stars. Through it all, he never let go of Clarke’s hand.

They landed on the cold hard ground after what felt like minutes of confusing dizziness. Looking down, he could see himself staring back. The entire floor was a mirror, reflecting the dome shaped roof and making it look like a tunnel. A Stone identical to the one under Gabriel’s hut was levitated right in the middle of the too bright room.

Bellamy quickly caught his composure, adjusting his eyes to the bright lights, and heard the click of the safety being turned off a gun. Clarke was standing tall with a gun aimed at the person who had taken them. His helmet was off. He was a young man with the same symbols Hope had painted on her face, with dishevelled ashy blonde helmet hair.

The man was looking on in awe at Clarke with his arms raised. He muttered, “For all mankind.”

Bellamy took her hand, and she turned to look at him. He subtly shook his head. This wasn’t who they were. She lowered the gun and instead kicked the man in the head. Hard.

She aimed her gun around the room at the handful of people there, all wearing white, before stopping at one.

“Gabriel?” she said, lowering her gun. “What the hell is going on?”

“Clarke,” he said. A small smile was on his lips as he looked at her carefully. “They’ve been waiting for you.”

The four other people in the room, one of which had a strange looking monocle on her face, murmured ‘the key’ and stared wide-eyed at her.

A strange feeling crossed through Bellamy as he heard their whispers. “Why are they calling her that?”

“It’s a long story. It’s good to see you.” Gabriel turned to a comrade. “Inform First Disciple Anders it’s time to the wake the Shepherd. The key has arrived.”

Clarke lifted her gun again and aimed it right at him. She didn’t like what she was hearing. “Gabriel, where are we?”

“Put the gun down,” He put up his hands, showing he was not a threat. “Clarke, we’re not going to hurt you. Welcome to Bardo.”

“Bardo?” she questioned.

Before he could answer, Bellamy cut in, “Where is my sister?”

“She’s here. She’s safe,” Gabriel assured him.

“Jordan?” he asked.

“He’s here too… he’s—“

Just then a faint beep filled the room and a door slid open. In walked someone in white robes, with two guards either side of him. He had symbols on his face, just as the others did, and his eyes looked dull.

Bellamy couldn’t believe his eyes. “Jordan?”

Jordan walked towards them and stopped next to Gabriel. He stood tall, unlike his usual posture. “Bellamy,” he briefly acknowledged him before focussing on who they had called ‘the key’. “Clarke, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“We?” Clarke asked.

“We are the Disciples of a Greater Truth,” Jordan said, “and we believe that you, Clarke Griffin, are the key to winning the last war mankind will ever wage.”

“Jordan.” Bellamy took a step towards him and reached out for his arm, but he flinched away at his touch. “What did they do to you?”

“They haven’t done anything to me. My eyes have simply been opened to the truth. This is how we get to peace.” It was clear he disapproved of their weapons at the ready. “If you would please put your weapons down, you will be reunited with your sister.”

Bellamy didn’t want to cause problems, so he placed his handgun and rifle on the mirrored floor. Clarke didn’t make a move, but once he gave her a little nudge she obliged reluctantly.

Jordan nodded to the other guards and Octavia was brought in. Bellamy rushed over and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“O,” he breathed. His hand went to her stomach, where she was stabbed. There was nothing. Not even a wound.

“I’m sorry, Bell,” she said weakly.

She was alive and that was all that mattered right now. “I got your letter.”

She smiled into his neck. “You did? Thank you big brother, for everything.” Then she paused for a moment, and whispered quietly into his ear. “A mantra...”

He didn’t know what she was talking about but he listened.

“I am not afraid,” she whispered. “It’ll help.”

Bellamy led her over to Jordan, whose wrist he grabbed. “C’mon, Clarke, we’re going back.”

Gabriel stood in their way. “I’m afraid we can’t let you leave.”

Jordan pulled away from Bellamy’s grip. “The Shepherd will explain everything to you.”

“The Shepherd?” Clarke quipped. “What are you, sheep?”

Bellamy stifled a chuckle but to everyone else those words didn’t register in their brains. Except Gabriel, whose face had broken into a smallest of smiles.

“I’ve seen my fair share of cults,” Clarke said. “Whatever they teach you, Jordan, whatever you’re promised, I can assure you it’s not worth it.”

“No more war,” Jordan said simply, gulping as he talked. “It’s worth it for that.”

The doors to the room opened again and in walked someone wearing similar robes to Jordan’s. He stopped in front of Clarke.

The man spoke in sentences similarly phrased to the way Jordan was speaking. “Clarke, it is an honour to meet you. I am First Disciple Anders. The Shepherd is thrilled that you have arrived.”

After a moment, another man wearing the same coloured robes, in a different design, entered the room. More elegant, to show he was above the others, Bellamy supposed.

Bellamy’s eyes were drawn to his feet where he was wearing open toed sandals, a vast contrast to the rest of his impeccably groomed appearance. It was quite a bizarre sight to see.

The man beamed at Clarke. “Ah, the key is here. We’re so happy to have you, Clarke.”

Her eyes also dropped to his feet. “You’re the Shepherd?”

“Please, call me Bill.”

That name sounded familiar to Bellamy and he took a step forwards, looking at his face, trying to remember where he recognised him from.

Bill sighed at Bellamy, he didn't seemed thrilled to have him here. “And you must be Bellamy. We’ve learnt a lot about you from your sister.”

“I know you,” he said, squinting this eyes. “Where do I know you from?”

“Bill?” Clarke said, her brow furrowed.

And then it clicked. That video Jaha had shown them all those years ago. “The Second Dawn on Earth. Bill Cadogan was their founder.”

Bill put his hands up the same way the man who Clarke had knocked out had done. “Guilty.”

“How the _hell_ are you here?” Clarke asked.

Although he probably didn’t mean it, he had an unsettling way of smiling. “A story for another time. Right now, we need your help to lead us to victory.”

Clarke crossed her arms. “You want me to lead your people?” She laughed. “ No. You’re the crazy cult leader who built the doomsday bunker.”

“We weren’t a cult. We were a collective of great minds dedicated to the continuation of our species,” he said. “Now, don’t draw to conclusions so fast. Let me explain—”

Clarke cut him off. She wasn’t here to hear his explanations. “No, I want to take my friends and go back to Sanctum.”

“Clarke, if you would please hear me out. I’m not your enemy here, I want us to work together. We have the same goal. I want peace, same as you.”

“By what, fighting a war?”

“I know it sounds counterintuitive, but this is the unfortunate downside of being human.” One of the other people wearing white opened up a computer screen on that far side of the room. Strange symbols appeared, the same language that was on the Stones. “We’ve decoded the ancient Bardoan texts, left here from the former inhabitants of this planet. When we arrived here, we found the remnants of the civilisation that lived here before - the Bardoan’s. They left behind all this advanced technology. It took centuries but we finally managed to translate the characters.”

“What happened to them?” Bellamy asked. “The Bardoans?”

Cadogan said, with all the seriousness in the world, “They lost their war and were crystallised. That is what will happen if we fail this war.” That sounded completely absurd to Bellamy.

Clarke shook her head. None of this was making sense. She looked over his shoulder and began reading the texts out loud. “So, we began our fight to discover more. The quest to understand who built the Bridge, and why.” She paused. “The former inhabitants wrote this?”

“Precisely.” Cadogan obviously knew the texts off by heart because he didn’t even so much as glance at the screen as he recited them. “The marks left on the cold mountain of greatness, a promise of something beyond all we have known. The task is clear. Find the correct combination and _Clarke_ will set the great event in motion.” His eyes met hers, and she looked closer to the screen. Her name was written there, clear as day.

Cadogan continued. “The orb becomes like a star, challenging all we have done and all that we are. Only then will the last war begin. Make it past and cease to be fallible. Transcend into greatness, evolve into more.”

He paused, letting Clarke catch up as he read on.

“ _Clarke_ shall not enter into the last war lightly. A lifetime of preparation will lead us to this moment. Strength will be crucial. If we are not prepared to rise up, to be the best versions of ourselves, we shall face nothing but defeat. When the last war has ended, should the fighters not prevail, our entire kind will put themselves at risk.”

Once he’d finished, Clarke turned to Bellamy and shrugged, then looked back to Cadogan. “So my name is in the texts? I doubt I’m the only person named Clarke in the universe.”

“Of course not. But I do not think it’s a coincidence.”

She crossed her arms. “What’s not a coincidence?”

“Becca Franko, a scientist—”

“Becca? Creator of the Flame?” Bellamy said.

“Who you _burnt_ at the stake,” Clarke pointed out.

Cadogan's hands were raised in prayed now. “She was putting us all at risk, I had no choice. You know of her. Good. She put the code in the Stone on Earth—“

“Wait,” Clarke cut in. This was a lot to process. “There was a Stone on Earth?”

“Yes, there was. But again, that is a story for another time. When she put the code in, the Stone transformed into a white orb and she disappeared. She saw what she called ‘Judgment Day’. When we will be tested. She said we weren’t ready back then, but I believe we are now. We know you had the AI created by Becca Franko in your head, the one that told her the code, and I do not think it’s a coincidence that your name also appears in the Bardoan texts. That is why you, Clarke Griffin, are the key.”

“You want me to lead you in a war?” she said. “Judgement Day. You want me to fight, to cause unnecessary death?”

Cadogan spread his arms out. “Such is the cost of war, you of all people should know that. Clarke, I understand why you are hesitant, but this will save the _entire_ human race. We have trained an army who will follow you and do whatever you ask. When we win, we will transcend to a higher state of being and be at peace. The next step in evolution. Isn’t that fate worth a little sacrifice?”

Clarke wasn’t hearing any of this bullshit and grabbed a fistful of Bellamy’s jacket. “No, I don’t know the code or whatever is you want to start a _war_. We’re going back to Sanctum.”

Bellamy didn’t like where this was going. He found the handgun in his waistband and wrapped his hadn’t around it. Clarke noticed what he was doing.

Cadogan took a step forward. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, without helmets you’ll lose your memories.”

Octavia spoke up. “He’s telling the truth. It happened to me, and Hope.”

“Well, give us helmets then,” Clarke ordered.

Cadogan grasped his hands together. “You need to understand, I can’t let you leave, Clarke. This is a life or death situation. And we need your help.”

The guards turned their guns on the three of them and Clarke huffed. “Bellamy, stand down,” she said in Trig.

Cadogan’s brow’s furrowed. “You speak her language. Stand down, right? That’s what you said? Sorry, I’m a little rusty. It’s been a while.”

Clarke was surprised. “How do you know Trig?”

He smiled at an old memory. “My daughter created the language. Do all of your people speak it? She must have been important for her language to survive for all this time. Is she in there, Clarke? Do you know her? Calliope— Callie— do you remember her?”

Clarke decided she’d lie. Bellamy wasn’t sure whether it was to protect them or as a cruel joke, or a combination of both. “Yes, I’ve seen her.”

“Maybe we can sit down and you can tell be about her some time. After we’ve sorted everything else out, of course.” He let out a shaky breath. “You are not our prisoners. You will be fed and taken care of, but I cannot let you leave until you understand how big the stakes are. Our newest recruit, Disciple Jordan,” Jordan smiled at being called by that name, “can explain further if you wish. And don’t worry about your friends on Sanctum, they won’t miss you. They won’t even realise you’re gone.”

Clarke decided not to fight him, it would only do more harm. She nodded to Bellamy who let go of his grip on Jordan. They allowed themselves to be escorted out of the bright room.

Cadogan pointed a finger at Gabriel. “Take him too.”

Gabriel tried to resist the guards. “But sir -er my Shepherd- I’m on the cipher team. Anders personally offered—“

“I don’t know you, Gabriel, but I do know your kind on Sanctum.” His face was too close for comfort now. “I don’t know where your loyalties lie and I do not trust you.”

——

The endless banging was ringing in Bellamy’s ears. He couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d been at this for two days straight. “Clarke!”

She stopped banging on the door for a second to glare at him. Her eyes were on fire. “ _What?_ We need to get out here.”

“Breaking your hand is not going to achieve anything.” He dragged her, as much as she tried to protest, away from the door. “Lucky they didn’t you put you in a cell by yourself or you wouldn’t have me to take care of you, would you?”

She gave in. She was a little calmer now. The zip on his jacket brushed against her bruised hand and she gasped. Before they’d left Sanctum, it had barely started to heal from when she’d punched Russell. But miraculously, when they’d arrived on Bardo, the bruising had almost healed. Though now it was back due to her persistent pounding on the door, and walls, and anything that made any kind of noise in this cell.

“What are doing, Clarke? We need to come up wth a strategic way out of here, not banging on a door that they will not open unless they have a reason to.”

She sighed. “I don’t know, Bellamy. I’m not going to cooperate with their demands, that’s all I know. I will _not_ lead that man’s army into war.”

‘I know. I know you won’t.” He hoped his cold hand was soothing the bruising a little. “Those texts, the original inhabitants. Why does your name shows up in them?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I want this to all be over. I want to go home, but I don’t even know where home is anymore. I don’t even know who I am anymore. Everyone seems to think I’m _Wanheda_ , the Commander of Death. It follows me wherever I go. I don’t want to be that. I just want to be me.”

Bellamy pressed his forehead gently against hers. “Hey, we’re still breathing.”

It was a long time ago when he’d first said that to her. “We are.”

Bellamy wasn’t worried about Octavia anymore. He'd seen her. He'd hugged her. She was fine. A little weakened, but alive. No, there was someone else he was worried about now. Someone he needed to get out of this place.

The door beeped, and they jumped apart, almost bumping foreheads. Jordan walked through, and the door closed behind him. No guards, just him. His hands were clasped in front of him which seemed to be the natural stance for the Disciples. He refused to sit.

“They’re allowing me to speak to you alone, to explain things further,” he announced.

“Jordan,” Bellamy said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Bellamy. Really, I am. I feel content, I feel this is my purpose in life.”

“They’ve brainwashed you. What they teach here isn’t right. No love. No family. No bonds. That’s not a way to live,” Clarke said.

“I know it seems harsh, but isn’t it worth it for the betterment of humanity?”

“Jordan—“ she said.

He silenced her and allowed himself to sit down on the edge of the bed. “Let me explain. I know this can be confusing, but I spent five years on Skyring with Gabriel and Hope.” His eyes welled up at the mention of her name. “And Orlando, who was a Level 12 Disciple. He was my friend and he opened my eyes to the truth.”

“A higher state of being, what does that even mean?” Clarke still didn’t understand.

“Transcendence. We will be happy and at peace,” he said. “And I know you’re hesitant about this Clarke, but let me tell you something that may sway your worries. I’ve been studying the texts myself in my spare time, and I think I may have found something. The structure of the language is similar to Korean.” He smiled to himself, they knew from the video logs Monty felt great pride at teaching his son to speak the language. “They may have translated the texts wrong. I think it’s a test, not a war.”

“A test?” Bellamy asked.

“That makes more sense than a war, doesn’t it?”

“Have you told your Shepherd?” Clarke asked.

“No, I want to make sure I’m correct before I talk to him.”

Clarke began pacing around the cell. “If they mistranslated that, could they have translated my name wrong?”

Jordan shook his head. “I’ve gone over them countless times and there is no other translation for your name. Something like test or war, an event that could be confused with one another, yes. But something as final as a name can’t be. It’s correct. It’s your name.”

“It makes no sense,” Clarke said. “Why me?”

Jordan’s eye softened, and he looked so much like his father. “It does make sense to me. All the stories I was told about you… You’re a leader, Clarke. Everyone knows that.”

“Jordan,” Bellamy said. “I don’t think you’re okay. What you went though on Sanctum—“

“What I went though on Sanctum opened my eyes to the truth. Under the influence of the Red Sun toxin I saw it. I saw transcendence. I saw the beings that had ascended. The Shepherd’s teachings make complete sense. It all does now. Everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been through. This is what we’ve been fighting for.”

That didn’t convince Bellamy at all. “This isn’t you, Jordan. We need to get you out of here.”

“Bold of you to say that.” His voice turned bitter now. "You don’t know me. You feel an obligation to look out for me because of my parents. You see me as an extension of them. But you don’t know _me_.”

The guilt he’d felt came flooding back. “Jordan… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. You never cared. You never tried to get to know me. You dismissed me when I came to you about Delilah. Only when Clarke was body snatched did you believe me. But even then, you dropped everything to save her and didn’t give a second thought to Delilah.”

“I’m sorry, Jordan. I’m sorry about Delilah,” Clarke said.

“I’m glad you’re alive Clarke. I am. But I wish Delilah could have been brought back too. No one cared that I was hurting.” He was fighting back tears now, but he wouldn’t allow them to fall.

“I’m sorry,” Bellamy tried again. But he knew his apologies were not enough.

“You just assume I’m like my parents and yes, I am in some ways, but I am my own person and you wouldn’t know that would you? The only people who did, the only people who cared, were Delilah and Hope.”

“Hope,” Bellamy said, remembering that wild girl in the woods who’d stabbed Octavia. “You care about her. You love her, don’t you? You’re willing to give that up for this cause?”

It took him a moment to answer. “This will save her. This will bring her peace. She won’t have to suffer anymore. Yes, it is worth it.”

Bellamy knew what path this way of thinking was leading towards and it saddened him. “What would your father say?”

“My father would want peace," he said with the resolve of someone who was trying their best to do the right thing. "The end of war. No more senseless death or killing. The Shepherd can deliver us all there. All of us. For all mankind.”

Clarke strolled her hand on his shoulder. “You father would want you to live. Jordan, I will not put you in danger. I will not let you walk to your death.”

He angled his head away for a beat, before turning back to them. “My father would want a peaceful life for me wouldn’t he? And this won't be the end of everything. Just us.”

The three of them were silent. It must have felt good for Jordan to let that all out. He’d been holding it in for a while. Wordlessly he stood up, knocked twice on the door and left.

Bellamy fell back onto the bed. “I’ve failed. I’ve failed Monty and Harper and everyone. I promised to protect him.”

“Hey, it wasn’t just you. I did too. We all did. We didn’t pay a much attention to him as we should have.” Clarke said.

“This transcendence he believes in, it sounds like some kind of after life. He’s lost regard for his own life and is heading to his death. Just like…” He couldn’t continue. Another person he’d never properly mourned.

“Jasper,” Clarke whispered. She wrapped her arms around him as they thought of their fallen friend.

Bellamy remembered Jasper’s dark eyes, how the light was only a spec, almost gone. And still, he left. He left him in Arkadia and never saw him again. Those darkened pits haunted his nightmares sometimes. He could never forgive himself for that.

“I wasn’t there for him. I couldn’t save him,” he said. “Jordan was named after Jasper. I _won’t_ let him have the same fate.”


	6. Chapter 6

As the two remaining Primes, Daniel and Kaylee were in charge of Sanctum. They lived in the Palace, which was wonderful. Especially for Emori. She would never get over the beauty of the view out the window. It was more than she could have ever dreamed of as a kid in the dead zone of Earth. Endless deserts, broken tents, unbearable heat. This was heaven compared to that.

John loved the comfortable bed, but unlike Emori, he was never thrilled to wake up in the morning.

He didn’t much like their roles here, but Emori was in her element and that was enough for him. Whatever made her happy made him happy too.

She woke up first, as usual, excited to start the day and see what it brought. The opened blinds filled the room with streams of sunlight. She shook John said said cheerfully, “Rise and shine.”

He rolled over and groaned. “Do I _have_ to get up?”

“Yes,” she said, nuzzling her nose into the sensitive part of his neck. “We’re in control of Sanctum now. We need to keep the peace.”

Clarke was gracious enough to let them live here. Emori had been studying Kaylee’s diary and had a good grasp on who she was as a person. It was helpful in keeping the faithful in control, but Russell was still a problem. A big problem they needed to get under control before everything blew up.

John didn’t make any effort to get up and instead pulled her down on top of him. “We don’t have to go, do we? Can’t we stay here and sleep. Or… not sleep.”

His hands on her stomach made her wince. She hoped he didn’t notice. “Ah—“

“Too many cookies,” he joked, but then he looked worried. “Hey, are you okay?”

She climbed off of him. “I’m fine. In fact, great. More than great actually.”

Her smile was so wide it enticed John to actually get up out of bed. She considered telling him now, but it wasn’t time yet. First, they needed to make sure the peace was kept for today. They were talking things one day at a time.

“Okay,” he said, grabbing a button up shirt and beginning to put it on, “for you I’ll get up. Though I’m not happy about putting on pants so expect me to be in a grumpy mood.”

“As always, Daniel,” she pecked his nose, “my annoying little brother.”

“Brother, hmm, right.” He kissed her, deep and thoughtful.

Their moment is disrupted when a loud bang and screaming erupt from down below. No doubt something to do with Russell. Another day. Another problem.

Downstairs things had gone manic. The door to Russell’s cell was wide open and he was no longer locked up. The faithful were still there. Some them were dumbfounded by whatever had happened, and some were wounded. Indra approached them, looking slightly terrified, which was an unusual emotion to see on her.

“Indra, what’s going on? Did he escape?” Emori asked.

“With help,” she responded. “And he’s not Russell.” It was clear she couldn’t quite believe what she was saying. "He’s Sheidheda.”

John cursed to himself. “Sheidheda? How?”

“I don’t know. But I do know Sangedakru will follow him, and most of Wonkru will too. I’ve sent Gaia to find Madi. He’ll go after her first.”

John rushed to the wounded, checking on the kids first, which made Emori’s heart flutter. “John, get the word out to Jackson, I’ll go find Raven.”

——

The door to the machine shop was unlocked, as was the door to the reactor. It didn’t take long for Emori to find Raven.

She was sitting at the controls, and only barely acknowledged her. Echo was there too, looking bored, sitting on the bench and twirling her hair in her hands..

“What’s going on?” Raven asked, not looking up from what she was working on. “We heard screaming.”

“Sheidheda,” Emori said.

Now she looked up. “Sheidheda? How?”

“Russell.”

She dropped the screwdriver which clanged onto the bench. “That son of a bitch, he uploaded himself to the neural network and attached himself to the closest mind drive - Russell’s. Crap.”

The lights flicked off and on again, as it had been doing regularly. That was why Raven had spent so much time in here, trying to keep the reactor running, making sure the power stayed on in Sanctum.

She’d recruited James, a former member of Wonkru, to help out, but he’d gotten distracted with a Sanctum girl and he wasn’t very good at the job anyway. Raven had taken it all on herself. May as well be the one to do it so she knows it’s running properly.

There had been some water from the coolant system leaking, but Raven with the help of some prisoners had managed to patch it up. The system had seemed neglected and would have greatly improved from Raven arriving here to manage it years ago. But alas, it had held out for as long as it could. She’d done the maintenance and it was now functioning better than it ever had, though it still wasn’t perfect. She’d created a system that would regulate the core temperature as needed. The set level would automatically reduce or increase in temperature if it changed from the normal range. Now it wouldn’t overheat.

She was quite proud of the work she'd done, as was Emori. She’d learnt a lot on the Ring, and the science terms Raven had been piping out made sense to her.

“The faithful will be mad if we murder who they believe is their god,” Echo said.

That was exactly what Emori was worried about. “And who tells what the Children of Gabriel will do. And then we have Wonkru who will most likely follow him.”

“Madi?” Raven asked.

“Gaia’s searching for her,” Emori said. “Raven, I don’t think we can keep the peace anymore.”

She fiddled around on a computer screen, things were happening too fast for Emori to process. “I can seal the door. There’d be enough room for a few hundred in here.”

Emori shook her head in disbelief. “You want to hide people into the reactor?”

“As long as no one goes in the actual radiation soaked rooms, they’ll be safe. Gather people who you think will be in danger if they don’t bow to him. Go!” She nudged Echo up. "Echo you go too! You’re no use here.”

“I told you I wasn’t,” Echo murmured.

They managed to gather over a hundred people into the reactor. Some people refused, mostly the Children of Gabriel. Emori was very pleased Nelson had agreed to come. She’d taken a liking to him. They didn’t have such different upbringings.

They were all safe here, for now. No one could infiltrate it, and they had food and water.

For now, they could survive.

\- ∞ -

Echo watched from the back as Sheidheda gathered everyone into the courtyard and one by one made them kneel. The former members of Sangedakru of course did. This was their former commander, Malachi kom Sangedakru. Knight was allocated as his right hand man. The rest of Wonkru were scared and felt they had no choice. Even Indra led them in bending the knee. They saw first hand what happened to people who refused.

Nikki, Hatch and the Eligius prisoners knelt, as long as they were allowed to keep building what they now said was ‘their’ compound. The Children of Gabriel who refused to hide in the reactor all kneeled.

Murphy and Emori, or Daniel and Kaylee Prime, knelt. Sheidheda took the palace but agreed they could have the machine shop, right above the reactor. Echo slipped back to the reactor before Sheidheda or his guards noticed her. She gave the agreed upon knock. Raven opened the door and ushered her in quickly.

There were a couple of hundred people hidden in here now. Familiar faces she recognised, Jackson, Miller, Madi, Gaia, Niylah, among others. Most of them were kids, she realised. And even the dog was here.

“What happened out there?” Raven asked desperately.

“Most of them knelt, those who didn’t were shot,” Echo said.

Gaia pushed her way through. “My mother?”

“She knelt.”

That was satisfying enough for her and she walked off to comfort some frightened kids.

“Murphy and Emori?” Raven asked.

“Knelt. He took the palace but agreed to let them have the machine shop.”

“Good, we have people on the outside.” She pointed to the rations. “They can get us more food if we need.”

“They’re valuable alive,” Echo said. “He appears to respect them. He has no clue we’re here.”

Raven gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Let’s hope it stays that way. We have enough food for at least a few days, let's hope it settles down before then.”

\- ∞ -

After Emori and John had checked on everyone in the reactor, they went to go in search the woods for their other friends who had gone missing in action. Sheidheda allowed them to go out alone as a trust exercise. They hadn’t lied to him, exactly. Truth be told, they didn’t know where at least _some_ of their friends were.

At Gabriel’s hut they found no trace of them. Emori had never been this far out in the woods before. It was beautiful, the green swirling cloud and glowing particles. Though the influence of what they called the Anomaly was strong. It didn’t affect John, as the Red Sun hadn’t either.

It made her feel lightheaded and more ill than she had been before. She heard the faint cry of a baby and her heart melted. She turned around in circles and she tried to reach out to it. A child.

Her child.

“John?” She couldn’t see him anywhere and trekked along, following his footsteps in the dirt.

She found him kneeling on the ground. A hexagonal helmet was half buried there. It was unlike anything she’d seen before. They pushed the dirt off and a body was uncovered.

Emori stepped back. John couldn’t figure out how the helmet came off and resorted to kicking it, cracking the golden triangles until the helmet came off. A ghost white empty face stared back at them.

He examined the helmet. “Someone else was here. Whoever his people are must have taken our friends.”

“Taken?” Her head was spinning now. “Taken _where_?”

He nodded towards the green swirling Anomaly. “Wherever that goes.” Then he noticed her expression and and dropped the helmet. He pulled her close to him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I…” She wasn’t sure how to begin and instead buried her face in his chest. “Nothing's wrong. Everything is great.. I’ve been meaning to tell you something but it never seemed like the right time. Now seems like a good of time as any.”

He waited expectantly.

“I’m pregnant,” she said.

“You’re…” He couldn’t quite believe it. “Are you sure?”

“I was late and Jackson did some tests… I am, John.” It felt strange finally saying it out loud. "I’m pregnant.”

He lifted her up and swirled her around in circles, before lowering her back down gently. “I did notice you were seeming a little bigger around here.” He ran his hands over her abdomen. “I thought it was all the cookies you’d been eating.”

She laughed. “Cravings.”

“We’re going to have a baby,” he said, making sure those words sinked in.

“Jackson said it’s a boy.”

His smile was even wider now. “We’re going to have a son.”

His reaction was everything she could have hoped for. She loved him more than she knew how to express.

\- ∞ -

It had been days but Madi’s legs were still shaking when a memory of what had happened popped up. She was found by Murphy after Sheidheda had revealed himself and forced her to kneel, wiping red blood from the people he’d slaughtered all over her face. She’d run up to the room above the tavern and huddled herself into a corner before she was found.

Sheidheda, who had haunted her ever since they’d arrived on Sanctum. He was back. And he wasn’t only in her head. He had a body now.

At least Picasso had stayed by her side, but the only person she’d wanted was Clarke. She was still off searching for Octavia. She said she wouldn’t be long, but Madi was worried. Everything was worrying her now, least of all being stuck inside a nuclear reactor. She trusted Raven to make sure radiation didn’t start leaking. But if it did, she knew she would be one of the lucky ones because of her nightblood.

Her new friends from school were all here, as were their families. Well, the ones that still had families. Some of them never had any. Luca was sitting alone in a corner, sobbing softly. He’d watched some of his people, the Children of Gabriel, reuse to kneel before Sheidheda and saw them slaughtered. It was a miracle he’d survived.

She handed half a bread roll over to him in a napkin.

“Hey, you must be hungry,” she said.

He shook his head and looked away.

“Luca, you need to eat,” she pressed.

“Someone else will appreciate it more than me.” His eyes were closed now. “Give it to the dog. I don’t care.”

She whistled and Picasso came running over. “She doesn’t need food right now, but you know what she does need? To be petted.”

She settled down next to him and placed her hand over his. He pulled out of her grip immediately. Picasso nuzzled the back of his hand and he still didn’t look up. But she could see a small smile on his lips.

Emori had told her to just be there for him. That was what he needed right now. To know he wasn’t alone.

Rex sat down next to her, his fingers massaging Picasso’s ears. Luca finally opened his eyes and saw his friends all gathered around him. He began petting the dog.

“When it’s safe to go out, how about a soccer rematch?” Rex asked the both of them.

“Of course,” Madi said.

Luca was more cheerful now and took the bread and nibbled on it. “I’ll beat your ass this time.”

Madi laughed. This was more like her friend. “Like hell you will.”

They retold what had happened in their last match and laughed at the memory. After a few minutes, Luca frowned again and went back to mopping. Words were no good coming from Madi, so she was thankful when Rex spoke.

“Luca,” Rex said. “We’ll get out of here soon. We’ll be home soon. All of us.”

“I don’t know where my home is anymore,” Luca said.

“They’ll come,” Rex said. “They’ll take us there.”

Madi caught Emori’s eye as she looked on at them from a distance and smiled as a 'thank you'. Her advice was good.

\- ∞ -

John was so thrilled by this news and and it made him one hundred percent more attractive to Emori. They were granted some free time over the next few days and spent it in the bedroom in the machine shop.

The bed here was squeaky and not comfortable in the slightest. Not like the palace. But anywhere with him was a palace to her.

Raven examined the mysterious helmet and spent days repairing it. It was unlike any kind of technology she’d come across before. No obvious power source. It became her mission to figure out how it worked. Emori was glad she now had something to do instead of idly waiting.

Eventually she got it working and discovered it was thought powered. She put it on and explained how the six planets were connected by the Stones.

“It’s a wormhole,” she said, her voice distorted through the helmet. “Each planet has a unique code, put it into the Stone and you can travel there.” She took it off and looked at her friends with great glee on her face. “They have information on our friends. They must have been taken to one of the planets. The question is, which one? Anything else you found out there?”

“Aside from the body, that was it.” Emori's face reddened as she remembered the news she’d told John out there. But they’d decided not to tell anyone else yet, not even their family. And besides, that wasn’t what Raven was asking.

She tapped the helmet thoughtfully. “If we could get everyone out there and put the code in we could planet hop… But we don’t know what that kind of travel does to your body, especially if you don’t have a helmet.”

“And we don’t know _which_ planet,” John said.

She put the helmet back on. “The map doesn’t say names, it only shows symbols. We know one is Sanctum, one is offline, so a one in four chance of arriving to where they are.”

“I don’t like those odds.” John said. He was the one who was most hesitant. He felt responsible for all these people.

“Says the cockroach,” A hint of sarcasm was dripping in Raven’s voice. “But I agree, we don’t know. And they are all in different locations. From what I know about time dilation, the closer the planet is to a black hole, the slower time moves. The further away, the faster it moves. And if we even travel a split second apart we could be separated by years.”

It was all too dangerous, Emori looked at the kids, they couldn’t risk putting them in danger. “We’re safe here for now.”

Raven threw the helmet onto the bench. “I’m failing everyone. Just as I couldn’t get us back to Earth from the Ring. We’re stuck here, just as we we were then.”

“Hey,” Emori said. “You are not failing anyone. You got us back down to Earth,” she stopped as Raven looked at her sadly, “eventually. You had the brilliant idea of hiding everyone in here. They’re safe. Look at all the people you saved. Look at all the kids. We’ll figure something out, Raven. I know we will.”

Raven let a few tears fall as she hugged her sister tight. John joined in, the three of them in a group hug. Thankful that they all still had each other.

“Hey,” John said, elbowing Emori teasingly. “Should we tell her?”

Emori pulled away and considered it, deciding she wanted her to be the first to know.

“Tell me what?” she asked, resting her elbows on the helmet.

“I’m pregnant,” Emori blurted out.

Raven’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

Emori laughed, along with John, and Raven laughed a big bellowing laugh too.

“I’m going to be an aunt,” she said.

“And a godmother, if you’d like?” Emori said.

“Hey.” John was annoyed at that suggestion. “We didn’t discuss that.”

“Oh c’mon John, Raven Reyes, the most _badass_ mechanic as our son’s godmother? Of course she will be.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said, nudging Raven playfully.

Raven nudged him back. “I cannot believe John Murphy is going to be a father. In what world are we living in?”

He winked. “Hey, stranger things have happened.”

\- ∞ -

Echo wandered around the reactor aimlessly. She didn’t know what she was doing. She had nothing to do here. She felt out of place. Raven, Emori, Murphy, Miller, Jackson, they all knew their place here. She didn’t have one.

Seeing Wonkru kneeling before a commander had kept running through her mind. It had been so long since she’d last felt part of something like that. Part of an army. She could have that again, if she wanted.

_No._ She'd told herself she was done with that life. But what were they doing here? Waiting for... what exactly? She didn’t know if she could handle it any longer. Not when there was another choice.

She headed towards the door but Raven stopped her in her tracks. “Where are you going?”

She didn’t need to say anything, her eyes said it all.

“Echo, no. I know you’re feeling lost… without Bellamy… without that sense of purpose, but following _him_ is not the way.”

This wasn’t easy. She did still have a family. People who cared about her. But that wasn’t enough.

“Please don’t. You’re my sister, Echo. We need you here. You don’t have to be a follower anymore.”

Roan’s words reverberated through her mind again. _Without someone to follow, who are you?_

She didn’t know. And she didn’t care to find out. She had thought she had wanted to, but not now when there was another option. Raven could see that in her eyes.

She pushed the door open and tugged out of Raven’s grip. “Echo, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, glancing back at her.

And she meant it. She was sorry. But she also needed to be herself. To do what she was good at. To do all she’d ever known. She wasn’t ready to throw that away yet.

Sheidheda was sitting on a throne in the palace as Echo walked up to him and knelt before him. “Echo kom Azgeda, I am at your service, Heda.”

He examined her thoughtfully, running his finger over her the faint scars of her past. “Azgeda hmm? You will be a valuable asset, Echo.”

She nodded, looking into the dark pitted eyes of her new master. “I know where the fugitives are.”


	7. Chapter 7

Clarke had lost time of how long they’d been locked up here. A week, maybe, if she had to take a guess. Everyday, Jordan came in and asked them more questions about the Flame, about what she remembered from her time with it, and if she had any idea of what the code could be. She refused to say anything, afraid of giving something, even subconsciously, away.

There was something deep in her soul that terrified her. Remembering what Gaia was concerned about, showing her the sketchbook with the drawings of memories her daughter had never experienced.

“Madi,” she said to Bellamy one morning, her voice groggy with sleep.

His head perked up. “Madi?”

“She has memories from the Flame. If Cadogan finds out…” Her body began trembling.

His hand appeared on her shoulder. “He won’t. Nothing will happen to Madi.”

She nodded, snuggling her head into his chest. She wanted to believe that. But the truth was she was on another planet and had no idea she was missing or in danger. Maybe it was better that way. Madi being in the dark having no idea what was going on.

“I thought Sanctum could be our home,” Bellamy said. “I thought we could build a new compound and start over.”

“Me too,” Clarke said. “Madi could go to school and be a normal kid. We could just be… and owe nothing more to our people.”

But of course it hadn’t happened like that. Now they were prisoners, or as Cadogan had said ‘not-prisoners’, on another planet and being questioned about the Grounders old faith. They did owe more to their people still. To keep them safe. Because right now, they weren’t.

Bellamy kept his arms arms wrapped around her middle, trying to stop the shivers. His presence helped calm her worries. There was nothing to do but wait and see what this day brought.

They were so comfortable they didn’t even hear the door open. Suddenly Clarke was being dragged out of the bed by three guards wearing caps. They reminded Clarke of the security detail in Mount Weather.

Jordan was in the doorway, watching her squirm in her tired state. She was held in place face to face with him.

“Clarke, I’ve been trying to do this peacefully but if you don’t give us—“ he said.

“No,” she spat. “I’m not giving _him_ anything.”

She was trying so hard to keep herself together, but tears began to pool in her eyes. “I know it’s hard, and the unknown is scary, but this is going to save us all, Clarke.”

“Jordan, I know you believe in transcendence and I respect that, you are free to believe in whatever you want, but I will not help _him_ start a war. I will not lead these brainwashed people into a massacre.”

The emotion on his face, the way his forehead creased, showed how hard this was for him. How hard he’d tried to prevent this from happening. He looked down, clearly torn, as a single tear fell to the ground. “I’m sorry, Clarke.” He nodded to the guards holding her arms in a death lock.

“Take her to M-Cap,” Jordan ordered.

They obeyed ‘Disciple Jordan’ and dragged a thrashing Clarke out of the cell.

Bellamy launched at them. “No!”

Three guards overpowered him and the last thing Clarke saw before she was taken around the corner were them holding him down.

She kept struggling and wouldn’t give in. Least of all, they would not get her compliance. She craned her neck to see Jordan following her.

“Jordan,” she croaked. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do, Clarke. I follow the Shepherd’s orders and we need that information. If you’re not willing to tell us of your own free will, as I gave you many opportunities to do so, then we’re going to have to find it ourselves.”

She’d had all kind of weird tech in her head, so this wasn’t anything new, but from what she’d heard, the thought of memory capture terrified her.

The operating room was sickeningly white. At least the floor wasn’t reflective so it wasn’t as dizzying as the Stone Room. She was pushed into a sterile operating chair, and restraints locked down her arms and legs so she couldn’t move. A halo of thorns came over her head. There was nowhere to escape.

She could see the Shepherd out the corner of her eye, watching her with his index finger on his chin. Studying her like she was an experiment. Jordan was next to him with his fingers intertwined. Another young man with clear glasses over his dark eyes came to stand over her.

“Hello, Clarke. I’m Levitt, your technician for this procedure.” The man’s smile was a little too cheerful for what he was about to do. “This will be relatively painless, as long as you don’t resist.”

That made her want to resist even more. Her head was held in place and she was forced to stare at the white ceiling. In her peripheral vision she could see Levitt open up a hologram screen in the middle of the room. There were loud clicking sounds as he prepared the machine.

The lights dimmed and her eyes adjusted quickly. The contraption around her head glowed with bluish white light onto her forehead. A large device lowered from the ceiling above her. The sharp point on the end stopped right above her stomach.

Levitt was back next to her, his clear glasses illuminating his face in the same bluish colour as on hers. “You’re in an endless desert with a vast purple sky. A hand reaches out for your own. Whose is it?”

An image immediately popped up into her mind. The person whose hand she always welcomed into hers. Who wouldn’t let her make the hard choices alone. The person who’d saved her more times than she could count.

She pushed him from her mind. She refused to let them see her personal memories. She grunted and thrashed her head around as much as she could in the tight restraints holding her down. The thorns dug into her forehead but she didn’t stop.

Levitt was doing gestures with his hands in the air. “Apologies, my Shepherd, I cannot engage the neural link. She’s resisting too much.” He stopped and watched her thrash around, screaming ‘no’. “If she keeps this up her brain will haemorrhage.”

“Keep going,” Cadogan said.

The machine was digging into her head and blood was pouring down the sides of her face. The warmness of gushing blood was all she could feel.

“Aaah!!” she screamed. The pain was too much and verbalising it out loud was helping to fight through it.

Levitt obeyed and upped the intensity of the machine. Clarke resisted harder, feeling her vision go blurry and hearing begin to disappear. She could feel her body struggling, but she never backed down. She wouldn’t let them get _anything_ from her. She’d let herself die before she put Madi in danger.

“Sir,” she heard who she believed to be Jordan say but it was hard to tell through the blood in her ears, “she’s dangerously close to haemorrhaging now. That’s enough for today, I can keep working on her. Eventually she’ll break.”

Cadogan shushed him and keep watching his victim. “Clarke, you’re going to kill yourself if you keep this up,” he said. His voice made her arms shake to their bitter core.

Her head was throbbing but not so much she couldn’t say one last thing to him. The last thing she may ever say to anyone. She could already feel her body beginning to fail. With gritted teeth she said, “Go float yourself.”

He stood back, amused, and then gestured to Levitt with a look of irritation on his face. There was anger bubbling below his skin that he didn’t get what he wanted. “Turn it off. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

The machine switched off and Clarke felt a pressure released off her head. The restraints lifted, but she was too weak to lift her arms or stand up.

Only now could she relax. They’d gotten nothing from her. And they never would.

She gave into the darkness.

\- ∞ -

It had ben almost an hour since they’d taken Clarke and Bellamy was worried sick. Being left alone with this thoughts, when someone he cared about deeply was being done who-knows-what to, was not a situation he dealt with well. He banged his fist against the door for a while, the exact thing he’d berated Clarke for doing when they’d first arrived. It was pointless. He knew that. Yet he kept ripping his hands apart in the hopes it would bring her back.

He gave up after a while and instead he spent his time sitting on the bed, his legs pulled up to his chest, waiting. It’s what he’d do back on the Ark, waiting for his mother to return home after a long night doing the scraps of jobs she’d been given. She’d told him not to bother waiting up for her. He should sleep. Yet he was always worried and stayed up to give himself peace of mind. Even though she was his mother, he fell a responsibility over her. He’d felt responsible for their family unit. Ever since Octavia was born, it was up to him to take care of them.

Lost in his thoughts, he jumped when the door beeped open. Clarke was thrown into the room harshly and the doors shut immediately. She collapsed to the ground before Bellamy had had a chance to catch her. Black blood was dried to the sides of her head. He picked her up, caressing her face, and checked her pulse. She was breathing. Thank _god_ she was breathing.

His voice came out in a desperate plea. “Clarke! Clarke, can you hear me?”

She mumbled something inaudible, but that was enough for him. He carried her to the bed and got her lying down straight. Clumps of hair were coated in blood. He got his ration of water that he’d been saving and saturated the edge of a sheet in it. He cleaned up every drop of blood that was covering her face.

It reminded him of what she’d done for him back at the farmhouse, cleaning his hands until they were raw and red, and no trace of blood was left. A noise come from her mouth and he stopped.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he said.

Her eyes were open, barely. “I didn’t give them anything. I didn’t…”

He kept wiping the blood away, soothing her troubles away. “Of course you didn’t.”

“Thank you,” she said, weakly squeezing his hand. “For keeping me alive.”

Bellamy stayed on guard while Clarke slept, in case they came back to take her again when she was still in a weak state. No one did, and he eventually fell asleep too. His right arm pushed up against her side. His body guarding hers.

He was awoken, what was probably hours later, by the door beeping open. He expected to see Jordan. But it wasn’t him. Three helmeted guards grabbed him. Clarke’s eyes flew open and she tried to sit up but winced. She yelled his name but it came out hoarsely.

“It’s okay, Clarke, keep resting. You need to get your strength back,” he said to her. “Don’t worry about me.”

He was taken to the same place Clarke had been. Without a single word he was strapped into an operating chair in a blinding white room. A young man stood over him. He strained his eyes, focussing on Cadogan and Jordan watching over him.

_Jordan._ He needed to get him out of this place.

“Bellamy, it’s an honour to finally meet you,” the man wearing clear glasses said. He smiled down at him. There was a threatening contraption above him. “I’m Levitt. I oversaw your sisters procedure and know all about you.”

If that was supposed to make him feel better, it didn’t in the slightest. These people had dug into his sisters brain, as well as Clarke’s, and that made him want to fight back.

A halo came over his head and locked in place. If he moved, sharp points dug into the side of his head. The lights dimmed.

“You’re in an endless desert with a vast purple sky. A hand reaches out for your own. Whose is it?” Levitt asked.

He tried to resist, but her presence was too strong in his mind. Her hand reaching out for his, comforting him, making sure he didn’t deal with this alone. Telling him he was forgiven. She was clear and centre in his memories.

Levitt clapped his hands together once. “Neural link is engaged.”

Cadogan looked pleased with that. “Well done, Bellamy. That wasn’t so hard was it?”

“Screw you!” he said, gritting his teeth. “ _Get out of my head_!”

“Just a little more… this won’t take long if you cooperate. What do you know of the AI you call the Flame?” Levitt said.

He tried not to think but a memory popped up. Polis, in the throne room high up in the tower. Strange tentacles emerging from the Flame as Murphy put it into Clarke’s neck. Himself putting the chip onto her tongue, and her swallowing.

“Good,” Levitt said. “Very good. Now, after Clarke shut down the City of Light, what happened to the AI? Clarke kept it, didn’t she? Where is it now?”

Bellamy fought against the restraints. He knew what happened after. Of course he knew. One of the biggest regrets of his life. Gaia appeared in his mind. He was asking her for something. If what he was proposing was okay. She’d agreed. This was how they were going to save his family.

He fought as hard as he could to not allow them to see her. The restraints tightened and warm blood dripped down his cheeks.

The person he’d promised to protect was a blur. An indistinguishable hazy blob. Gaia said the passphrase and the AI opened up, it’s tentacles running free once again.

“I can’t get a clear picture,” Levitt said, moving his hands around in wild gestures.

Cadogan’s voice was closer now. “Someone else had the AI in their head.”

Then his face was above Bellamy’s, which actually helped make it easier to resist. Seeing his face, reading his intentions of what he’d do if he found out the truth, made anger fill his veins.

“Who was it?” Cadogan ordered. “Show me, Bellamy. This doesn’t have to be difficult. Show me who it was and we’ll let you go.”

“ _Screw you!_ ” he said, spitting in his face. He remembered what Octavia had said. A mantra to help him. “I’m not afraid.” He repeated it over and over.

His mind went blurry and he felt himself get lightheaded, but his memories dispersed so they were unreadable.

“My Shepherd,” Jordan’s voice, he thought it was, said. “You know how important he is to Clarke. If we let him die she won’t help us.”

Bellamy let his watering eyes close. How did they get here? He’d failed Jordan. He’d failed his friends son. Look at him, willing to let them do to this to him. To his people. To his friends.

“I agree with Disciple Jordan,” Levitt said. “He’s no use to us dead. Octavia and Clarke—“

He never heard the end of that sentence. Suddenly there was silence. The pressure was still in his brain, and then it stopped, and a wave of relief washed over his body. They were out of his head now. He felt weak and defeated, but he’d succeeded. He’d promised Clarke and he’d kept that promise.

“Okay,” Cadogan said. “We need him alive, but I need you two to understand I _need_ this code. This war needs to begin if we are going to transcend. We are not doing this for only our loved ones,” his voice was next to Bellamy, but he was too weak to open his eyes and didn’t want to see his face anyway, "we are doing this for all mankind.”

“For all mankind,” Jordan and Levitt repeated in unison.

“Take him back to his cell,” Cadogan ordered.

Two people hauled him up. He forced his eyes open and found Jordan on his way out. He silently pleaded for him to rethink what he was doing. His stance was stoic. He showed no emotion.

_I failed,_ he thought again. _I’ve failed everyone I care about._

“Levitt,” Cadogan said. “You’re demoted.”

“But sir…” he argued.

He silenced him. “You are beginning to get attached, that is not in our teachings. You won’t be operating M-Cap anymore. You’ve already been given one too many chances.”

Bellamy tuned out the rest of the conversation as focussed on staying awake.

\- ∞ -

Clarke waited patiently. She had no energy to bang on the door anyway. She forced herself to keep her eyes open when she just wanted to sleep and not have to think. But she had to stay awake for him.

Finally the door opened and Bellamy returned. Or rather, thrown into the cell. Red blood covered him and he was as pale as a ghost.

“Bellamy?” she said softly, caressing his face in her still weakened state.

“They didn’t see,” he mumbled. “I didn’t let them see anything. I wouldn’t…”

She knew in her heart he would never put Madi in danger. He’d made some mistakes, but his intentions were always right.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry I failed him. Jordan. I don’t know how to reach him.”

“It’s okay, we will. Together. Now let me get you cleaned up.”

It felt like days until they next come for them. They sent food and water through the door but they didn’t see another human for an eternity. Thankfully, it gave them both a chance to regain their strength and begin to feel better. They were more aware, and more prepared for whatever was coming their way.

The doors finally slid open, and Clarke was more than ready for their arrival. This time it was Jordan, alone. The doors closed behind him.

“I’m sorry,” Jordan said. His eyes looked immensely tired. It was clear he hadn’t been sleeping. “I’m sorry they put you through that… I tired to stop it, but I needed to earn their trust.”

They stayed silent, not sure how to respond to that.

“I have,” he continued. “They trust me and the Shepherd is not going to put you through M-Cap again. That method did not work on you. I’m sorry again that you had to go through that. He is allowing me to take you, and the others, to show you the outside of Bardo. Seeing what we’re up against might make you reconsider helping us.”

Two helmeted Disciples trailed closely behind them as Jordan led the way down the corridor. They stopped at two cells on the way. The first one, Octavia and Gabriel walked out of. Bellamy resisted his natural instinct to hug her, but ultimately reconsidered. They’d have time later, when they got out of here. He walked side by side with her. She smiled at him. She seemed to be doing alright.

At the second stop, Diyoza, and who Clarke presumed was Hope, came out. The six of them were escorted by Jordan to the elevator. In there, they had a few moments of quiet with just them.

After Jordan scanned his eye on retina scanner, they began to travel upwards.

“This is my daughter, Hope, for those of you who haven’t been acquainted,” Diyoza said. “Time dilation’s a bitch.”

Clarke smirked. She had her mothers eyes, but also elements of her father. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’ve heard stories about you. You described them well, mom,” Hope said, then to Bellamy. “We’ve already met. I am sorry—”

“It’s alright,” he said, “you only stabbed my sister and made her disappear. It’s nice to officially meet you.”

Clarke noticed the smallest of smiles on Jordan’s lips. He wasn’t lost. Not completely. Not yet.

“Good thing we’re all still alive,” Octavia said, punching her brother playfully.

Up on Level 12, before the doors opened, they were each handed a mask which Jordan instructed them to put on. “The particulate matter in the air is lethal to humans. It’ll calcify you from the inside. We’ll be behind glass, but this is just a safety precaution,” he said.

They were led out of the elevator to a door down the end of the hall. They waited patiently for the door to open. They followed Jordan inside, the two guards stayed outside, and the door closed behind them. They were alone in here.

The walls lit up with golden light and the blinds opened up. The outside world was dark and dire. Giant crystalline figures were poised gracefully, preserved in time. Lightning strikes lit up the sky at random intervals, illuminating the crystal figures and the destruction outside.

“The original Bardoan’s,” Jordan explained. “They were defeated by an enemy, an enemy that we will be up against in the last war. They were wiped out by a weapon we call ‘Gem-9’. It crystallised them from the inside out. This was the last war they ever fought. This is all that is left of them. We’ve managed to isolate the substance which we keep and have been studying for hundreds of years. We still don’t know what it is or how it was made.”

Gabriel walked forward to get a better look. “These are the aliens? Giants, you called them?”

Octavia squinted out the window. “They don’t look so different from humans.”

Jordan scratched his chin. “I’ll admit I haven’t read too much into it, but the Shepherd believes this is the case. Humanoid aliens, slightly bigger than us.”

“But you said it’s a test, not a war,” Clarke said. “Doesn’t that contradict what you’re saying and all that Cadogan believes?”

“I believe it’s a test, yes. But it may still be a war that is the test. And perhaps the way to win, is to not fight.”

She couldn’t help but smile. He was very much Monty’s son.

Hope launched forward and pushed Jordan back against the wall. Her mother took her by the arms as she yelled at him. “Why are you doing this? Jordan, _please_ , look at me.”

He looked at her lovingly, but also distantly. “Hope, I’m doing this to save you.”

Sobs escaped her. “This isn’t who you are, Jordan. I know it’s not. They took _everything_ from me. Can’t you see it? They don’t want you to love. How is that justified?”

“We will all be at peace when we win. You’ll be happy,” he said.

She shook her head, softening in her mothers arms and Octavia’s presence. She had them, at least. “I thought you _loved_ me. I thought you wanted to be with me.”

“I do, Hope.” He didn’t make a move towards her though. “This is the way to get there. This is the only way.”

“Screw you,” she spat. “They took you from me. They took my mother and my aunty.” She turned her back on Jordan and crossed her arms.

“Hey,” Octavia said. “Your mother and I are still here, and always will be.”

“They took everything,” she sobbed. Her voice took on more menace now. “They need to _pay_.”

Jordan tried to step forward to comfort her and explain himself further, but Bellamy put a hand on his shoulder and urged him to leave it. Clarke nodded approvingly at him.

Diyoza and Octavia were comforting Hope trying to calm her down as she purposely ignored Jordan.

Gabriel had tuned everything out and was examining the outside. Clarke joined him. It didn’t made sense. Crystalline figures. An unknown enemy they had to fight. Or not fight. To pass the test, as Jordan believed.

“Any of this ring a bell from your time studying the Stones?” she asked Gabriel.

“Not in the slightest,” he said, shaking his head out of his trance. “I’m also intrigued as to what happened to the Eligius III team who came to this planet? Assuming this is one of the planets they visited.”

She considered that and nodded to the giant figures. “Could they be them?”

“Hmm, not sure. If the ground here was already uninhabitable then they may have died when they broke the atmosphere. It’s strange, though. Who built this compound then? It was already here when Cadogan arrived.”

Lots of questions she hadn’t considered. But it didn’t concern her much. This war or test, whatever it was, she wanted no part of it even thought Cadogan believed she was prophesied to. As soon as they were off this planet, she would put it behind her and never think of it again.

She was preoccupied with her conversation with Gabriel, she only heard the door close when it was too late.

Bellamy and Jordan were gone.

She rushed to the door and banged on it continuously, trying to find something for her fingers to latch onto but there was nothing. “Bellamy! Open the door!”

His voice was no longer muffled from the mask. “Clarke, I’ll get him out of here, I promise.”

He was being an _idiot._ Trying to be the hero. Sometimes she couldn’t stand him. “Open the _damn_ door. Bellamy!!”

There was a loud kerfuffle on the other side and then silence. She placed her hand on the keypad, but of course she had no clearance in this place, even though they believed she was the key. She was their prisoner despite Cadogan’s arguments against using that word. She was someone they wanted to use and then dispose of. That's all she was to them.

Octavia elbowed through and placed her hand on the scanner. “Let me see, Levitt’s our inside man, he may have—“ It turned red and refused to open.

“Levitt,” Hope chuckled darkly. “The man you’ve been sleeping with.”

Octavia side eyed her. “He helped us, Hope.”

“Only because you f—“

“Enough!” Diyoza roared, holding a single finger up to her daughters face. “Young lady, watch your language.”

She pushed them all out of the way, and punched the keypad with her bare hand at least a dozen times. Blood poured out of her wound and sparks flew up and zapped her. But she kept going. The keypad fell completely off, and then the door slid open.

Diyoza licked the blood of her hand. “Easy peasy.”

The two guards had been stripped down to their undergarments and were knocked out. Not dead, Clarke didn’t think. She knew Bellamy wouldn't stoop to that level.

They'd taken their uniforms.

They rushed along the corridor to the elevator and waited impatiently for it to come up. It thankfully took them down to the first level, where they needed to go. Levitt was in the hallway, working as a janitor now.

Octavia only had to say his name, “Bellamy?”

“Stone Room,” Levitt answered, looking on at her fondly.

The doors to the Stone Room were wide open and there were guards poised at every angle with their ray guns aimed. As they rounded the corner, Clarke could see why.

They were directly in front of the Stone. Jordan had a helmet on. Bellamy’s was off and he held a knife to the conductors throat.

“Put in the code for Sanctum,” Bellamy ordered the terrified man.

“Bellamy!” Clarke yelled. _What was he thinking?_

His head flipped towards her voice and his face softened “I have to get him out of here, Clarke. I _have_ to.”

She knew why. She knew his intentions. But this wasn’t the way. “Bellamy, we can figure this out.”

“Bell, listen to her. Don’t do anything drastic.” Octavia said.

“I am saving my friends son. He can’t stay here.” He pushed the knife closer to the conductors neck, almost hard enough to draw blood. “Put in the code for Sanctum. _Right now!_ ”

A rush of wind flowed past them as Cadogan stormed into the room, escorted by Anders.

“Bellamy.” He spread his arms out wide. “I thought we were on the same page.”

Bellamy laughed. “You’ve kept us locked up and dug into our brains. We’re not on the same page in the slightest. Send us to Sanctum or I _slit his throat._ ”

He was already intent on doing this and Clarke knew there was no getting him to back down now. He was stupid, following through with this plan when he had put no thought into it. That was what he did. He was rash and made stupid in the moment decisions. This was no exception.

This was supposed to be their chance to do better. Murder was not how they do that. She tried to communicate that to Bellamy wordlessly but he was in one of those moods. He would not be reasoned with. It was up to her now.

“Send them through and I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” Clarke said.

That was what Cadogan wanted so she knew he’d take her up on it. “Deal,” he said. Then, to the red headed conductor, “Conductor Doucette.”

Bellamy let go of his hostage and pocketed the knife. He looked thankful towards Clarke. Besides, he knew her too well to think she was actually going to keep her end of the deal. He placed the helmet on his head.

Conductor Doucette put the code in then nodded back to Cadogan. The bridge opened.

Clarke’s eyes were focussed on Bellamy as they walked through the bridge, his hand on Jordan’s arm firmly so they wouldn’t be separated. When the bridge closed, she was satisfied they were back on Sanctum.

Cadogan wasn’t exactly pleased. He made a ‘tsk’ sound as he waltzed over to the Stone. “You people are a constant problem.”

“Wait,” Octavia whirled her head around, "where did Diyoza and Hope go?”

They were too preoccupied with the drama to notice two other of the people with them were missing. Octavia ran and Clarke and Gabriel followed, stopping at body lying bloodied on the ground. Levitt.

“I’m sorry,” he said, spluttering up blood. “I’m sorry, Octavia, she made me give her clearance for the bioweapon room.”

“Gem-9,” she murmured. “Where is she?”

“Central humidification system—” He coughed, struggling to get the words out. “The machine level. I told her how.” He couldn’t quite believe what he was saying. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’ll be airbourne soon,” Clarke said. “We need to be fast.”

“It’ll take time for the compound to start spreading from the vents. That’s if we can’t stop her but I’m hoping we can,” Gabriel said as they began to run. “I spent five years with Hope—“

“I spent ten,” Octavia said, one upping him.

“Exactly, with me, you and her mother, we should be able to talk her down.”

“There’s no coming back from this if she does it,” Octavia said.

Octavia knew exactly where the room was. She’d been in this facility for months. Up on Level 4 was where the humidification room was located.

When they arrived, Anders was lying in the doorway. His throat was slit and he was in a pool of blood. Hope was screaming at her mother, who was slowly turning to crystal.

The room was slowly crystallising too. One drop was enough to wipe to everyone on this planet, they’d been told. Now they were seeing first hand how true that was.

“Mom!” Hope yelled. Octavia dragged her out of the room. “No.” She tried to fight her way back to her mother. “Mom!! _No!!!_ I’m sorry. Mom!!”

Octavia managed to get her out of the room. Clarke and Gabriel helped move Anders body out of the way so they could seal the room shut.

“MOM!!” Hope sobbed. “No!! I can’t lose her, not— _not again!_ I can’t…”

The crystallisation was moving up Diyoza’s body and face. Strings of calcified ropes spread towards the door, like a weeds in a garden. An intricate spider web of crystal wire.

Gabriel slammed the door shut, making sure the airlock was secure. Hope banged against the window as her mother was completely frozen in crystal.

“MOM!!” she screamed.

“Hope, Hope…” Octavia tried to comfort her. “I’m sorry.”

They watched until the last of it calcified. The whole room was crystal now. This threat was serious. Whoever wiped out those other beings were a powerful foe. It was no wonder the Shepherd was preparing a brainwashed army to fight them.

\- ∞ -

Sharp sticks and rocks, leaving bruises no doubt, were all Jordan could feel as he rolled through the bridge which closed with a _whoosh_ behind him.

He pulled his helmet off. The air felt somewhat misty and humid. Bellamy was lying a few feet away, unmoving. Jordan eventually managed to get his helmet off. He noticed a crack from the edge right up to the top. It had smashed from the impact. His eyes were closed, but there was a pulse. He’d only been knocked out.

Jordan quickly realised this wasn’t Sanctum. He looked around in awe. Beyond the impossibly tall trees were giant rocks in a uniform design, with small rocks balancing on the tops of each of them. Behind them was a mountain, higher than anything he’d seen before. A green swirling cloud sat atop it only barely visible through the hazy clouds.

He knew this place. He’d read all about it in the _Shepherd’s Passage_. The place he knew from sinking into the words and studying the sketches. He had only ever dreamed of coming here.

This was the place where the Shepherd had found enlightenment.


	8. Chapter 8

Bill was awed at the destruction that had occurred since these people arrived on Bardo. First Octavia and Charmaine Diyoza, who he knew as the terrorist from his time on Earth before the bombs, had disrupted life in their peaceful society. Clarke and Bellamy, who refused to answer his questions. And Hope, who had almost wiped out everyone on the entire planet.

This was exactly what he was trying to eradicate from humanity. Selfish bonds. It made them commit horrors. He was grateful he’d stripped himself of love a long time ago. But sometimes, his daughter came into his mind. Especially with Clarke arriving and the knowledge that she may have memories of Calliope to give him some closure.

Right now, Clarke was their most valuable asset. She was the key to transcendence, to the human race entering a higher state of being. Her friends were not needed for that to take effect. He’d thought he could take advantage of their selfish bonds to get her to cooperate. That was a mistake. A big one at that.

What to do with them? These people were a poison to everything they come in contact with.

They were on their knees, with their hands restrained, in the Stone Room. A helmet sat in front of each of them. Clarke, Octavia, Hope and Gabriel. He quite liked Gabriel, they were both from the same time back on Earth. They had reminisced about what life was life back then. But he was wary of him, and wasn’t sure where his loyalties lay. Besides, Bill didn’t associate with the people of Sanctum. He and Russell did not get along the one time they’d met. That’s why they’d made the deal to not to travel there and switch the Stone off. Until _someone_ arrived on Penance.

“I agreed to tell you what you need,” Clarke said through gritted teeth. “You said we had a deal.”

He stopped pacing and looked down at her. “That was before one of your people,” his eyes gazed over to Hope, “almost wiped out all my people.”

“I’ll tell you—”

He was impatient now. “You’ve said that, but this information is needed _immediately_. For every moment you hesitate to give me what I need, I’ll send one of your people to Penance. You better start talking or they’ll be dead before you see them again.”

Clarke sighed. She was still trying to get out of it, stalling, as she had ever since she’d arrived. “Okay… I don’t have the information you seek. As you know, I only had the Flame in my head for a short period of time. But I can give you the Flame.”

He figured she may have been lying about things. About Callie, he’d hoped not. The information would be on the AI. If anything, he could reverse engineer to find Becca’s memories and find the code. That would work. Clarke didn’t want to be a part of the war, it was clear. Though she would be, no matter what, and it was her choice not to believe.

Her eyes were burning into his. “Take all of us to Sanctum and I’ll let you have it.”

He clapped his hands together. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Clarke pursed her lips. She didn’t like him. He, on the other hand, quite liked her. She reminded him of Callie. Very much so. She had that same feisty rebellious edge to her.

Helmets were placed on each of their heads to prevent memory loss, they couldn’t have Clarke forgetting the place she’d left the AI. His five guards lead the way, including Doucette, who he had appointed as Anders temporary replacement until they found someone permanent. Doucette was a good man, loyal, and if he continued to prove himself, he would consider giving him the permanent position.

They stepped through the bridge one after the other. Bill went though last, arriving a few minutes after them. They were gathered outside near a little hut. There was a roaring green cloud behind them. The one that led to Penance, he knew. That’s how this whole thing had started.

\- ∞ -

Their Heda had trusted Echo to lead a team to the woods to search for the missing fugitives. Those who hadn’t knelt to him were in the reactor, and she’d had no choice but to tell him. There were guards posted outside permanently now. Murphy and Emori, or Daniel and Kaylee Prime, were in there too, too afraid to emerge and face the consequences for lying.

While a side of her felt guilty about turning on them, she couldn’t deny it felt good to be a follower again. To have a purpose.

He didn’t care much for the fugitives, his orders were to kill them all, aside from Madi, who threatened his rule. He wanted to personally kill her himself. Echo hadn’t seen Clarke, or Bellamy, in days. They were still missing. She assumed they’d been swallowed by the green cloud.

She’d brought a few people with her. Knight, Heda’s loyal second, Indra, and a couple of other members of the former Wonkru. They scouted the woods, but came up empty. The missing had disappeared without a trace.

The hallucinogenic effects were weaker now than they were that first time she came out here. Roan wasn’t haunting her anymore. She’d pushed him away. It was only her voice now in her head. But what he’d said had rung true. She didn’t know who she was without a leader. That’s why she was here.

The sound was sucked out of the air and a new swirling green vortex appeared. Echo drew her bow and arrow, which she’d found hidden in a supply closet in the farmhouse, and aimed at the new Anomaly.

A few moments later, four people walked through with strange helmets on their heads. The vortex stayed open behind them.

One of them removed their helmet and her blond hair fell over her face. Clarke.

“Echo,” she said, then stopped when she saw the arrow pointed right at her heart. “It’s me. I’m not your enemy.”

She drew it back further and locked eyes onto her. “He’s been waiting for you.”

Her lips turn into the smallest of smiles. “Bellamy?”

She felt jealously at that, though she knew she shouldn’t. He’d never really been hers. Not while Clarke was around. “No, I thought he was with you.”

He face dropped. “He was sent back here. You haven’t seen him?”

The three others removed their helmets - Octavia, Gabriel and Hope. Bellamy and Jordan were not with them.

“We haven’t seen anyone come back. You’re the first,” Indra said.

Echo lowered her weapon. “We need to take you to him.”

Clarke turned towards the green cloud, waiting for someone else to arrive. “To who? Russell?”

“Our Commander, Malachi Kom Sangedakru,” Echo said. When that got no reaction out of Clarke, she said, “Sheidheda.”

Her brows furrowed and fine lines appeared on her forehead. She took a step back as the other guards circled her. “He’s gone, we _destroyed_ the Flame.”

Echo scowled. “He’s back. He needs you and Madi to bend the knee.”

Octavia stepped forward. “Echo, what are you doing? You’re on our side.”

She gulped, a part of her wishing that were true. But it wasn’t. She’d never fit in with them. “I follow my master.”

Echo drew her weapon again as another figure emerged from the green halo. Someone in white robes, very much out of place on this colourful moon.

He removed his helmet and looked around. “Savages,” she swore she heard him say.

Clarke shoved the white robed man and he almost fell to the ground. “You didn’t send them here.”

“No,” the man said assuredly. “I needed to make sure you upheld your end of the deal. When you give me the AI, I’ll tell you where they are.”

“Who is he?” Echo asked, aiming her weapon at the man.

Clarke looked at her sadly, the way she used to look at her when they were on Earth. Before the Ring, when she had been Azgeda through and through. When she was their enemy. She knew now, this was who she’d always be

The man put his his hand on the end of her bow. “We don’t want any trouble, we have some business and then we’ll be out of here.”

That didn’t concern her. “He wants to see you,” she repeated to Clarke.

Clarke crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground. “Fine, take us to him. But let these three stay here.”

That was fair. Clarke is who he wanted most of all. She gestured to her guards. “Knight, come with us, the rest of you guard them and make sure they don’t go anywhere.”

Echo led the way. She noticed Clarke whispering into Indra’s ear, who was nodding in response. She should care. She should put a stop to it. Indra was conspiring with the enemy. But they weren’t her orders. He orders were to find the fugitives and bring them to her master. That was what she was going to do.

Clarke noticed her stare and stopped talking.

“I don’t like this place,” the white robed man said, swatting bugs out of his face. “I don’t want to stay on this moon any longer than I have to.”

Echo decided she didn’t like him at all. He was whiny, and his clothes made him look like a fool.

“The suns,” Clarke said, shielding her eyes with her palm as she looked at the sky. “It looks like they’re eclipsing again.”

She was right. A strange colour was being projected over the lands.

“You remember last time don’t you?” Clarke asked Echo.

Of course she did. That wasn’t a fun time. She was forced to relive what she’d done for her Queen. That poor girl… Costia was her name. That name haunted her her dreams. She was ordered to deliver her head to the Commander’s bed. And she had. Queen Nia was proud of her. Though she hadn’t felt like she’d accomplished anything. She felt numb. She’d just murdered someone and she didn’t feel anything.

Echo wasn’t prepared to see her ghosts again today. She picked up the pace. “Then we better hurry.”

By the time they got past the shields the suns were hanging lower and the bugs had gone silent. At the palace, it was eerily quiet. The door dramatically opened and their Heda looked down. He smiled when he saw Clarke.

“Clarke,” he said, opening his arms wide as he descended the steps. “I need to thank you. If you hadn’t punched me, I never would be here.”

“You’re welcome,” she gritted out.

“Look,” the white robed man said, pushing in between Malachi and Clarke, “I don’t mean to be rude but we have urgent business to attend to so if you’d excuse us.”

Malachi looked the strange man up and down. “And _who_ are you?”

“How rude not to introduce myself. Call me Bill.” He held his hand out, but Malachi only stared with an amused smile on his face. “Now, ordinarily I would relish the opportunity to recruit your forces to the cause, but unfortunately I have neither the time not patience to do so.”

Malachi was not pleased with his words, and took a few authoritative steps towards him. “Well, _Bill_ —“

Bill cut in, “I’m sorry, again, but we’ll be out of your hair in just a moment.”

Echo was surprised and gave a little jump as four people appeared out of nowhere, wearing the same helmets Clarke and the others were wearing when the walked through the cloud. They aimed their automatic rifles towards Malachi.

He held his arms out in defeat. “Okay, as you wish. But Clarke, if Madi threatens my rule in any way I will cut out her heart and feed it to her dog.” His teeth were bared like a wild animal. “Understood?”

Clarke swallowed, and gave a nod.

Watching this play out right here, Echo decided she didn’t want this. Being a follower, following someone just because it was what they were supposed to do, it didn’t feel right anymore. She didn’t know Madi well, but she was only a child. Barely older than she was when she was forced to make her first kill. When she’d killed her best friend and stolen her name. When she was forced to do unthinkable things in the name of survival.

Knight stood next to Malachi loyally. He wasn’t questioning anything. He wasn’t questioning their Heda threatening a child. A child who they used to follow. Nothing registered on his mind. Is that how she looked from the outside? Someone blindly following him just… because.

She could walk away. She could choose to tell them otherwise. She could stop being an echo of the girl she used to be. She could be herself. Ash. Whatever that meant. Whoever that was. The choice was up to her. She’d already had many, many chances and always made the wrong one. She had one more chance now. It was now or never.

“Heda,” Echo said, poking a finger at the eclipsing suns. “The Red Sun is coming - last time the hallucinations were extreme, I experienced them first hand and trust me when I say, you do _not_ what to be outside when it comes.”

Malachi glanced at the bright suns and then looked away. “Thank you for the warning, Echo.” He then said to his guards, “Everyone, inside the palace, NOW!”

“I’ll go round up the others in the woods and bring them back,” Echo said. And, she realised, that was the first time she’d given herself an order, rather than wait for someone else to give her one.

Her former master nodded to her. He had no idea her loyalties had changed. She wasn’t even sure who she was loyal to now. All she knew was it wasn’t to him.

Once the palace doors were shut, she jammed a piece of wood through the handles to lock it so they couldn’t escape. The palace wouldn’t hold out the toxins, but they didn’t need to know that.

She ran back down the staircase and stood in front of Clarke. She didn’t say anything, just nodded at her.

“I’ve sent Indra to get the others and take them to Gabriel’s hut,” Clarke said, giving her a half hug as a thank you. “I’ll meet you there as soon as I know where Bellamy and Jordan were sent.”

Echo let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding. She felt she had finally broken free now.

\- ∞ -

This was a nightmare.

The kids were impossible to control. As soon as a few of them emerged outside for the first time in days, they only wanted to run back in. Murphy could understand why - they suns were eclipsing. They had been taught to fear it. They knew bad things would happen if they were outside when it occurred.

He knew they still had time. Not much, but if they hurried they could make it to the woods and use the Stone to travel. If what Indra was saying was true, Clarke had returned. About time.

“I can’t do this,” Murphy said to Emori. Kids were huddled around his feet inside the reactor. He touched her stomach. “How am I going do this?”

“We will,” she said, urging a few frightened kids out the door.

A few older kids - Madi and a couple of her friends - were outside waiting, trying to comfort the younger kids and show them there was nothing to fear.

It took time, much longer than Murphy had hoped, to get them all out. Jackson was a big help. He was a trusted doctor and told them in easy to understand medical terms that if they hurried before the second sun moved right in front of the first sun, they’d be fine.

Eventually, all of them were outside. The kids at least. The adits were still mingling around the entrance of the reactor. Jeremiah, who had taken a particular liking to Murphy, was at the front, holding onto the doorframe.

“Hey, Jerry,” he said, patting him on the shoulder. “It’ll be alright. We’ll be out of here soon.”

“Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for saving my son,” he said.

There were a bunch of adults behind him. No, not a bunch, _all_ of them, watching from deep inside the reactor. They weren’t making a move.

He should spell out the truth for Jerry. He at least deserved that. “I’m not Daniel Prime,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jerry said. “You’re a good man. You saved my son. Now take him home.”

These people trusted these strangers, people who had come from across the stars, with their children. Nelson wanted to stay and fight, much to Emori’s dismay. He wanted to make sure Sheidheda and his army don’t follow.

Murphy wanted to convince them to come, but they were running out of time. They’d made their choice. They were going to stay behind. He understood why. They wanted their kids to be safe. That was all a parent ever could want. Maybe one day he’d be able to fully understand their sacrifice.

Raven and Emori lead the pack, as well as Echo, who after betraying them had decided to come back to their side. He wasn’t quite sure whether he could trust her again.

“Find a partner,” Murphy yelled over the kids chatter. “Whether that’s a friend… or sibling,” a foreign concept where he was from, “Do not let go of their hand and follow in a single line. Got it?

He was at the tail end with Miller and Jackson. He looked back. The adults were out of sight. They’d locked themselves back inside the reactor.

“They’re staying?” Miller asked him.

“Yeah,” he replied sadly. “They’re staying.”

\- ∞ -

Cadogan had made his distaste for this place well known. Clarke wished he’d shut up. The sky was getting darker and she could begin to feel the toxins take effect.

She ran down to the front of the property and started digging under the tree. She found the Flame box and pocketed it. Cadogan was watching her from the top of the hill. His eyes were burning into her. She couldn’t stand it anymore.

She dug up her mothers ring and put in her pocket. She had a feeling she was never going to come back here.

Outside the farmhouse there were boxes filled to the brim. The Eligius prisoners had moved in andmoved all of her peoples belongings outside. She ruffled through quickly, knowing full well Cadogan was watching her.

She found it. Her backpack. Down the bottom was her dad’s watch. She dropped the ring into there too and swung the pack over her shoulder. This was all she had left of her past.

Cadogan was pleased when she handed her the box. She wasn’t even sad about letting it go. She’d already said goodbye. It was just a broken piece of technology now.

“It was Callie’s,” he said, brushing the dirt away. “Amazing how it’s still intact.”

He pushed the lid off and found the fried AI and his face dropped. He picked it up in his fingers, it’s dead tentacles lying limply. “You lied to me, Clarke.”

She shrugged. “I never said it was working. On Bardo you surely have the tech to extract the information.”

He sighed, putting it back in the tin box. “It’ll have to do. You lied to me about something else too. You don’t know who Callie is, do you? You never saw her.”

“No,” she admitted as they began walking back. “As I said, I only had it in my head for a short period of time. She might be on it somewhere. I don’t know.”

It was strange that this man who had created a whole society without familial values was so obsessed with his daughter.

When they arrived back at the palace, the toxin was beginning to get under their skin.

“I kept my end of the deal, now _where_ did you send them?” she ordered.

Cadogan tapped the tin box, disapproving of her tone. “I know you don’t want to be a part of this but you will be one way or another. I hope you agree to fight when the time comes. You will be rewarded greatly if you do.”

She crossed her arms impatiently.

“Etherea,” he said.

Now she had what she needed. Luckily, his guards appeared to trust her and were no longer invisible. Before they knew what was happening, she grabbed a ray gun off one of their belts and shot all four of them. Fatally or not, she didn’t know or care.

She pointed the gun directly at Cadogan and he put his arms up, the Flame still tightly in his right hand.

“Clarke, we had a deal,” he said slowly.

She used the barrel of the gun to push him up the stairs. He obeyed. “We did, and we both upheld our ends.”

She took the wood that Echo had used to lock them in out and slid the doors open. Sheidheda in Russell’s body, which was still a very strange thing to wrap her head around, stood up from his throne.

“Close the door!” he yelled.

Clarke shoved Cadogan into the room. He was looking at her almost pleadingly and she found great glee in that. “He escaped from the Flame,” she nodded to Sheidheda, “I’m sure you’ll become the _best_ of friends.”

She slammed the door shut and put the wood back in place. She didn’t think twice about leaving him in there. She took the helmets from the guards and ran into the woods.

The shield was down and the bugs were rampant. As she got deep into the woods, she saw and heard things. The radio calls. Her mother. Her father. Bellamy. Wells. Lexa. Finn. Everyone she’d failed. Everyone she loved. All of it consuming her at once.

Eventually the hut came into view, and she was relieved that Echo, of all people, had come to greet her. Something was put over her head, and she took a deep breath. Antitoxin.

Now her surroundings came into view. She could mostly see kids.

Murphy gave her some support, which she needed. She was still very lightheaded. “Nice to see you back, Clarke. But I see you managed to misplace Bellamy and Jordan.”

She chuckled. Typical Murphy. “This is all the people you could get? Kids?”

He looked a little saddened. “The rest of them wanted to stay.”

It reminded her of the parents on the Ark. Sending their kids to the unknown, but giving them a chance to live.

Gabriel was distributing the antitoxin to the kids and looking very stressed. She pushed her way through the crowed before flailing arms embraced her.

Madi. She was so relieved to see her.

“Clarke,” she said, latching onto her jacket. “Shiedheda… he— he’s back.”

“I know, Madi,” she said, running her hands down her hair. “You’re safe now. We’re going to go somewhere we he can’t get to us.”

Gaia was hovering close and Clarke hugged her next, thanking her for looking after Madi while she was gone.

She was happy to see Picasso was still there too. It would be interesting to see how she’d fare travelling through the bridge.

She found Raven and told her the planet where their people were, “Etherea.”

“Closest to the black hole,” Gabriel said. He hadn’t taken any anti toxin for himself and was feeling the effects, constantly talking to someone who wasn’t there.

Raven placed the helmet on and gave a thumbs up. “Got the code. Slower time, meaning we need the helmets.”

Clarke held up the five she’d retrieved. Those five, plus the one Raven was wearing and the four others, meant they had ten all up.

It was tricky figuring out how they were going to do this, but eventually settled on a plan. Murphy, Emori, Octavia, Hope, Gaia and Niylah went through first to check things out. Murphy returned to report back, saying it was all good. It appeared to be the correct place.

He then took nine kids at a time, all wearing helmets, linking hands through the journey. Then he returned, and took another group, until they were all through. Raven and Gabriel ensured the bridge stayed open and didn’t close up.

He returned after making more than ten trips back and forth. He was visibly dizzy. “We good?” he asked.

The kids were all through. The rest of them - Clarke, Murphy, Jackson, Miller, Raven, Gabriel and Indra traveled through, and the bridge closed behind them.

\- ∞ -

Clarke examined their surroundings. There was a weird eery glow in this place, and a tall mountain with a green cloud on top. That meant the Stone must be up there. She wasn’t sure how they were going to get up there.

This place would do, for now. Cadogan or Sheidheda weren’t going to come after them anytime soon. Not until the Red Sun calmed down. She secretly hoped they’d killed each other in the palace.

They could find their bearings here and figure out a plan. And Bellamy and Jordan were here too. Somewhere.

Murphy wasn’t faring too great. He was throwing up under the cover of some trees, not wanting to scare the kids.

He noticed Clarke watching him, and wiped his mouth with a cough. “Do not recommend travelling through a wormhole that many times. God, I do not feel well at all.”

He was walking on shaky legs as he yelled at the kids to stay still. He was trying to do a head count. Some were young, no older than six if she had to guess, and they were the little rascals.

“How many?” Emori asked as he came to converse with them.

His eyes met Clarke’s as he spoke, “One hundred.”

That was oddly specific. Clarke chuckled. “What are the odds?”

Murphy glanced at Emori, who gave a subtle nod to him, and then put his hand on Emori’s belly. “A hundred and one, counting this one.”

_A hundred and one, counting Bellamy,_ she used to tell Madi every time in one of her stories. If she ever forgot, Madi would always correct her.

But there was also another. Raven.

Madi came running over, closely followed by Picasso who licked Clarke’s fingers. She petted her soft head which she very much enjoyed.

_One hundred and two_ , she thought to herself. If they counted the dog. Just like there were in the beginning.

“Bellamy and Jordan?” Clarke asked.

Murphy’s face was looking oddly greenish. “No sign of them yet.”

Her heart sank. They had to be here somewhere. “Cadogan better not have lied.”

“Wait. Cadogan?” Murphy said. “Why do I know that name?”

“Bill Cadogan. Second Dawn,” she said.

A smirk appeared on his face. “You met him? More importantly, he’s alive?”

She nodded. “Hardly believed it myself, he’s the head of _another_ cult. No surprises there.”

“What did he want with you and the others?” Emori asked.

Clarke sighed, not feeling like retelling everything yet. Not until they’d found Bellamy and Jordan. They could help explain it. “Lets find them first.”

Murphy and a few others stayed with the kids while they went off in search of them. There were footprints in the damp ground. That seemed like a good start.

What had happened to Hope’s mother was still a fresh wound and she was in very low spirits. But then she ran to a tree and embraced it in a hug, looking much more cheerful now.

“Green is _good,_ ” she said.

She ran to another tree, and another. Clarke examined the first tree. There was a handprint, made of green moss. Green. Algae. He really was Monty’s son.

A nearby cave was where they found them. Hope was sobbing loudly, latched onto a stiff Jordan, who looked uncomfortable but was trying to warmly comfort her. Bellamy was sitting next to a bunch of wood, looking the other way, and hadn’t noticed her yet.

Relief flooded her as soon as she saw him, but it didn’t stop the anger she felt. She shoved him backwards and he fell off the log he was sitting on.

“You idiot!” she scolded him. “Do you know how _stupid_ that plan was?”

He didn’t respond and looked at her blankly. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t stay mad at him. She never could. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her head into his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” she whispered. “But you’re still an idiot.”

She froze. Something wasn’t right. He wasn’t hugging her back. Her words got not reaction out of him. She pulled away and was welcomed with a frown.

He didn’t smirk, as he usually did. He didn’t apologise, as he always did. He still had a blank expression covering his face.

“Sorry,” Bellamy said. His eyes were empty. “Do I know you?”

She felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. Bellamy, her Bellamy, didn’t even recognise her. He didn’t know who she was.

She glanced at Jordan who was watching them carefully. He nodded to a helmet on the ground. “His helmet cracked. I’m sorry, Clarke, he doesn’t remember anything.”

Clarke squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. She _needed_ him. She always needed him. To help her. To lead with her. She couldn’t do this without him.

She imagined this is what it must have felt like for him when Josephine took over her body.

He was here. But he wasn’t.

Octavia approached her as she walked out of the cave. “Did you find them?”

She nodded, wordlessly gesturing behind her. Octavia ran over to her brother and hugged him, but quickly pulled away realising something wasn’t right.

“Bell, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” his eyes moved past his sister back to Clarke. “I… do I know you?”

“It’s me, Bell,” she said. “Octavia, your sister.”

He was visibly confused. “My sister?”

She was holding back tears as she turned back to Clarke. “We’ll get to the Stone and he’ll remember right?”

“My memories came back when I went back to Skyring,” Hope said, trying to be reassuring.

“That’s if we find where the Stone is,” Clarke said.

Jordan held up his little pocket book. “I know where it is, and I know how to get there. It won’t be easy, it was a harrowing journey for the Shepherd. But I think we can do it.”

“All of us? We’ve got a _hundred_ kids,“ Clarke pointed out.

She didn’t know what they were going to do. How could they possibly get all of them up the mountain?

And most of all, how was she was going to do this without Bellamy?


	9. Chapter 9

They made camp in a few different caves. The weather was mild. Not too cold, not too hot. Their clothes were enough, as well as the other supplies they’d brought with them like coats and blankets.

Raven explained to them how the time differentiation worked. Etherea was the closest planet to the black hole, meaning time moved much slower there than on Sanctum, and even slower in relation to Bardo. They didn’t know how much time they had before Cadogan would come after them, but most likely not long.

Bellamy was there, listening, but it was clear none of this made any kind of sense to him.

“Look, I don’t know,” Raven said. She had a helmet on which muffled her voice. “I can’t get an exact differentiation. As the planets orbit, it might change. I don’t think it’s linear.”

“But this is the slowest, right?” Octavia said. “I was only gone for a few seconds on Sanctum when I went to Skyring and Bardo.” She looked to Gabriel for confirmation.

“Yes, so months could pass on Sanctum in a single day here. We need to move fast, they’ll come after us soon enough,” Gabriel said.

“What’s the plan?” Raven asked Clarke. “We can’t go back to Sanctum.”

They always looked to her. Always, without fail, and she never knew the answer. “Let’s hope Sheidheda and Cadogan kill each other,” was all she could think of to say.

“What are the other options?” Raven said seriously. “We can’t go back to Earth. It’s offline.”

“My father said it would never come back. I assume that’s why it’s offline,” Jordan said. “Penance?”

“Skyring,” Hope corrected him. “I was on Bardo for a couple of months and hundreds of years had passed.”

“That’s not such a bad thing” Raven said. “We’ll be long dead by the time they come after us. They won’t get their war or test or whatever it is. How about the other planets?” she directed at Jordan.

“Bardo is out, they’ll be waiting for us. We’ll arrive straight into a battlefield,” Jordan said. "Nakara is a Class R planet. It’s where the Disciples send their dead.”

Raven crossed that off the list. “I don’t want to go _anywhere_ near there.”

Clarke agreed. “Sanctum, Bardo, and Nakara are off, it looks like Penance - uh Skyring - is the best bet.”

“Earth would be my first choice,” Murphy said, stretching his arms out. “But I know how unlikely that is. Monty said it’s gone. But I can’t shake what Lee - one of the kids - what his father Jerry said to me.” They all waited in anticipation for him to go on. “He said _take them home_. What does that mean? I thought Sanctum was their home.”

That reminded Clarke of something that had occurred when they’d first arrived on Sanctum. “After the Red Sun, the first time, when the kids came back, this little girl asked me if we were there to take them home. I never knew what she meant.”

“Earth,” Madi’s voice came from behind. No one had noticed her listening into their conversation.

Clarke looked at her confusedly as she came to sit next to her. “From a book written by Josephine Lightbourne.”

The book they’d found, Clarke remembered it. “The Red Sun Rising one?”

Madi shook her head. “Another one. It’s called, _Are You Here to Take Us Home?_ They study it at school. Rex knows it off by heart. One of the young kids, Yusif, has a copy he carries with him everywhere.”

Another book written by Josephine, that didn’t surprise Clarke. She’d been in her mindspace and seen the libraries of books filled with memories. “Can I see it?”

Yusif was a young boy with floppy jet black hair. He held the book close to his chest.

“He won’t let go,” Madi said, kneeing down, and Clarke noticed for the first time how good she was with the young kids. “Would you like Clarke to read it out loud to you?”

The little boy looked down sheepishly, and then his eyes slowly moved up and locked with Clarke’s. Taking a few small steps, he reluctantly handed her the book and sat cross legged in front of her.

‘ _Are You Here To Take Us Home?’ -_ it said in big letters on the front. _Josephine Ada Lightbourne_ was written underneath. It had similar illustrations to her other book. Clarke began to read out loud, letting the words soak into her mind.

_We love where we live,_

_but it won’t be forever,_

_one day life will be even better._

_They’ll come from across the stars,_

_in suits made of bronze,_

_and take us through the brilliant luminosity to where we belong._

_We’ll land where it’s green and anew._

_Back home,_

_where we will live on._

Clarke took in the pictures, first of Sanctum, with the two suns and vibrant, colourful environment of the moon. The next page was of people wearing bronze suits who take them through the Anomaly. On the final page, they land in a place that is certainly supposed to be Earth.

Yusif was smiling ear to ear and reading along as she spoke. Clarke handed the book back to the boy and he gave a toothy grin before running back to the other kids.

“Home,” she said to Madi. “They believe we’re taking them back to Earth?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Well, we _did_ come from across the stars,” Murphy said. “Granted not in the same way the Disciples did, but that would explain why that kid asked you that.”

“It’s how they understand real world problems, though these children books,” Clarke remarked.

“Josephine knew,” Gabriel spoke up. “So did Russell and Simone. Oh it’s all making sense now. They _knew_ it was a bridge. Wanna bet they made a deal with Cadogan that in exchange for not travelling to Bardo, they’d leave them in peace? And then when Earth came back they’d come and take them home?”

That made as much sense as any to Clarke, but the reasoning didn’t. “But why would they want that? They’d made a life on Sanctum.”

“Simple,” Gabriel said matter-of-factly. “Josephine was happiest on Earth. She was never going to come on the Eligius III mission until—”

“The incident,” Clarke finished. She’d seen it in her mindspace. The memory she’d tried to keep hidden.

“She never would have gone,” he continued. “She was happiest on Earth before the bombs. Russell and Simone would do anything to make her happy. That's why they discouraged me from looking into the Anomaly. Why everyone who went in never came out. They didn’t want me ruining their plans. Those devious Lightbourne’s.” He ran his hand through his hair. He appeared to be sweating profusely. “I’m sorry, I had no idea about any of it. Hundreds of years of research and I came up with nothing. Because they didn't want me to find anything.”

“These kids,” Murphy said, “believe we’re going to take them home? To Earth? Do they have any idea that Earth isn’t ever coming back? Monty said so himself, and was he ever wrong?”

The couldn’t argue with that. Monty was almost always correct. He never got anything scientific wrong.

“And even it did grow back, it’s offline,” Emori pointed out.

“That’s what they all believe,” Madi said.

And that was that. It was what they believed, and Clarke would not be able to do what they wished. It was impossible.

This was an _impossible_ task.

\- ∞ -

Jordan had been studying the Shepherd’s Passage for months and was more than prepared for the journey ahead. He had the map, the Shepherd’s wisdom and all the knowledge he could need for this expedition. And they had warm clothing, and tools they’d found left behind in a cave.

Getting up there, to the top of a mountain, with a bunch of kids would be difficult. They needed to send a team up first to check out the terrain.

The kids huddled around the fires as they ate their supper of berries and pine stew. Jackson had gathered sap from the trees to create antiseptic for the kids who were wounded. It helped treat their cuts and grazes.

They had water from a nearby creek and Jordan knew what food was edible. They’d gathered enough food for everyone. It had only been a few days but they’d done well.

The journey up the mountain might take a while. He was most looking forward to arriving at the _Cave of Ascent_ , the place where the Shepherd first encountered the transcended beings. He’d seen them too, in a vision. When he was being adjusted, he’d seen the beings of light, bright orange and gold. They were mesmerising. They were at peace. Maybe when Clarke saw them she’d see that he was right. That transcendence was real. Hopefully then she’d agree to take the test.

Being away from Bardo, from their way of life there, had caused him to realise his errors. And dare he even think it, the Shepherd’s errors. He cared about Hope. He really did. And seeing her distraught over her mothers death and putting the blame on herself, he’d come to the realisation that their teachings weren’t without flaws.

He understood the logic - don’t have selfish bonds for the betterment of everyone. But no selfish bonds at all… no love. It wasn’t a full life. He’d grown up with his parents in a place full of love. That was a special part of being human. The Disciples didn’t know any different, but he did. ‘For all mankind’ was not the right way of thinking. Some people needed more support and love than others.

Though their teachings would be to tell her to get over it, he couldn’t do that. His compassionate heart, passed down from his parents, made it impossible to ignore.

Hope was alone staring at the mountain, silently sobbing again.

“Hey,” he said.

She lifted her head. “I’m still mad at you. But I’m glad you’re safe.”

He joined her in looking at the picturesque view. “Hope, I’m sorry.”

That wasn’t enough, he knew, and he didn’t blame her for giving him the silent treatment.

“I still believe in transcendence, I always will. I believe in peace. But I’ve come to see they were wrong about some things. About love.” He took her trembling hand and held it to his chest. “Your mother loved you so, so much. She saved you and everyone on Bardo.”

That didn’t help. “I’m the reason she’d dead. My need for revenge is what _killed_ her. You were right to be worried about me. She’s dead because of me and I can’t take it back. I wish she hadn’t saved me. I wish _I_ was dead instead of her.”

“No, Hope, don’t say that. Listen to me. She didn’t do it to save your life. She did it to save your soul. To save you the burden of living with something like that on your conscience. She died a hero.”

“I needed you,” she sobbed. “When we arrived on Bardo, I _needed_ you. Why did you choose them over me?”

He’d regret that for the rest of his life. For choosing the cause over someone who was screaming out for help. “I’m sorry, Hope, I should have been there for you. I’m sorry. I was trying to save us all.”

“But they didn’t need saving. _I_ did. I needed you and you weren’t there and I lost sight of what was right… Why weren’t you listening to me?”

Everything she was saying was entirely correct. The bond they’d forged over those years on Skyring was something he’d chosen to sever upon arrival on Bardo. He wished he could go back and change things, but it was too late now. “I’m sorry, Hope. I’m so, so sorry.”

They sat there for a while. It was nice. This was peaceful, if brief. When they transcended, maybe they could feel like this for a lifetime.

Jordan left her once she’d calmed down and became sleepy. There were things she needed to work through it on her own. He came to the fire where Clarke was sitting alone.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nope. Worried sick about how we’re gonna do this.”

“Clarke, I’m sorry about Bellamy,” he said.

“Jordan, don’t think any of this is your fault.” She glanced at Bellamy who was sleeping soundly underneath a tree.

“He was right, by the way,” he said. “I was wrong to follow Cadogan and his way of life. I needed this distance from there to see clearly.”

She gave a sad smile. “Jordan, I do want to get to know you. We’ve just been so busy ever since we landed on Sanctum.”

“Clarke, I’m sorry too. I know you were busy and I’m not a child, I didn’t need supervision. It just… would be nice to get to know you too, aside from what I know from the stories my parents told me.”

All those stories were great, but it couldn’t compare to the real people. To the real experiences they’d had. He wanted to know them after how highly his parents had spoken of them.

“How’s Hope doing?” Clarke asked.

“Alright. She’ll be fine. Time heals all wounds.”

“Jordan?” She looked nervous. Not the leader his parents described. “Can we do this, do you think? Get to the Stone?”

He knew the path and had faith. He was feeling more than confident. “If we work together, I believe we can.”

In the stillness of the night, soft snores could be heard coming from the nearby caves from the kids who were now under their protection.

“Can we get them out? Can we get them home?” she asked.

“In truth I don’t know. Maybe when we you put the code in and we pass the test—”

“I don’t know the code,” Clarke snapped.

But he knew there was someone who might. “Madi—“

She pursed her lips. “She’s a _kid,_ Jordan. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“But if she knows the code, you take the test, and then…” He didn’t know what happened next truthfully. He wasn’t entirely sure what the journey to transcendence entailed.

She didn’t speak for a while, and he couldn’t find the right words either so he changed the subject.

“What happens when they come?” Jordan asked. "What’s our plan of attack?”

“We have weapons,” she said simply. “Automatic rifles, ray guns, swords. We attack.”

He’d prepared for that answer but didn’t like it. “Does it have to be like that? Violence, I mean. Isn’t there another way? The answer to all the violence isn’t just more violence. We’re above that.”

She bit her bottom lip and clenched her jaw. “What do you propose then?”

“Their weapons use energy, right? Some sort of… switch to render them useless. Like an EMP.”

She could see where he was going. “Shut down their weapons so we have the upper hand?”

“Exactly.”

Raven thought it was a brilliant idea. “An EMP. Jordan, you’re a genius!” She capped him on the shoulder. “Since this planet is the closest to the black hole, no matter where we travel to next we won’t need helmets. I’ll keep one so I can monitor what’s going and gather the codes we need, but we can use the rest to make the EMP.”

They got to work on rigging up a system, a simple one, so even someone like Murphy would be able to operate it.

\- ∞ -

Clarke didn’t want to worry Madi, so just before dawn she ruffled through the pile of possessions everyone had brought, searching or her sketchbook. She came up empty.

“Clarke?” Madi said, siting up and rubbing her tired eyes. “Have you lost something?”

She hadn’t meant to wake her but it was too late now. “No, Madi… sorry, I was looking for your sketchbook.”

“I didn’t bring it.” She crawled over towards her. “It’s back at the farmhouse.”

Clarke’s heart sank. If Cadogan found it, which he probably would, they’d come after her. She closed her eyes, trying to get that thought out of her mind.

“What’s wrong?” Madi asked. “Clarke?”

She looked at her daughter, all of twelve years old, almost thirteen. She’d had so much thrown at her in her short life, burdens she should have never had to carry. She knew when she told her, Madi would want to help. She was a lot like Clarke. Too much like her, actually, and that scared her.

She wasn’t going to go back to sleep so Clarke decide to tell her what Jordan had seen and what he believed. To no surprise, she offered to try to remember, despite Clarke’s reservations.

A blank notebook was in front of Madi and she began to draw. “I want to help,” she said firmly. “I did see Becca… I saw what she saw when she put the code in. It was—“ Her body began to tremble. “I can’t explain, I…I‘ll draw it.”

Clarke left her, checking in with her every now and again. But she mostly left her be and busied herself with weaving vines into rope.

The sketchbook was handed back to her opened to a page with seven symbols drawn on it. The code. That must be it. What Cadogan wanted. If he found it… “Did you—?”

“No,” she answered, already knowing what the question was going to be, “this is the first time I’ve written it down.”

That was a relief. If Cadogan did get his hands on her sketchbook he wouldn’t know the code. At least that gave her some peace of mind.

There were other pictures that Madi had drawn which were disturbing. Madi looked older somehow, fine lines on her face and hard edges around her eyes. Drawing this… this horror… had taken a lot out of her.

“This is what Becca saw?” Clarke asked.

The girl looked haunted now. “Judgement Day. Clarke, don’t put the code in. _Please…_ ”

“Hey, hey.” She ran her hand down her back in soothing motions. “You don’t need to concern yourself with any of this. I’ll figure it out.”

Murphy got his hands on the book and came to talk to Clarke alone. He stuck his finger at one of the images. Dark clouds engulfing a city and flames consuming screaming people. An endless doom. That one was hard to get out of your head.

“I saw this,” he told her.

“You saw this? Judgement Day?”

“After— when I died— I thought it was _hell_. This was it. This is what I saw,” Murphy said.

She looked again at the image and shuddered. “The Red Sun toxin made you see this?”

“No, it didn’t effect me remember. It was—”

“The snake venom, right. Under its influence you saw Judgement Day?”

How was that even possible? There was something else nagging at her too. What if she was the only one who could stop it from happening?

Murphy knew that look. “You’re not seriously thinking about taking the test, or whatever it is, are you?”

Clarke hesitated in answering and it was clear what her answer was. “What if Jordan’s right? What if me taking the test is the only way to get to peace?”

“You trust Jordan?” he asked.

“He’s Monty’s son,” she replied, as though that was reason enough.

“Right, Monty’s son. I’m aware of that, Clarke, but what happens if he’s wrong?” His voice was grumbly and low. “What if you put the code in and the Stone implodes or something? Then what? We’ll be stuck here. The plan is to go to Skyring.”

“Murphy,” she snapped. “I’m trying—”

“I know you are,” he said. “I know, okay. I just… want my son to have a better life than me, you know? It’s what all these kids deserve. I don’t want them to have to go through what we did.”

“I want that too—“

“I have experience following a fanatic who believed he was leading his people to peace,” he interrupted, standing up harshly. “It didn’t end well.”

Murphy had come a long way. From the selfish ass he used to be, now he was willing to sacrifice everything for others. She had a lot to think about. What would be best for the kids, that was what mattered most right now.

After having successfully translated the code using his cipher of the language, Jordan handed Clarke a scrap piece of paper. He’d written in block letters:

_CASSIEB_

“Does this name mean anything to you?” he asked. “The Shepherd tried all kinds of codes to start the war. He tried your name, Clarke, but nothing worked. The code for the test spells out this name.”

That name didn’t ring any bells, but another similar one did. “Are you sure it’s not Callie - Calliope - Callie C? Cadogan’s daughter.”

“With the symbols Madi wrote, this is correct. It’s possible she could be remembering it wrong, especially because those are not her natural memories.”

Why would this random name start the test, or war, or whatever it was going to be?

“Calliope,” Gaia said thoughtfully. “Kalliope kom Pramfleimkeepa. The first Flamekeeper.”

Niylah spoke up. “They say she was brave, strong. Legend had it when she died, even her enemies wept.”

Cadogan’s daughter was known among the Grounders. How he would love to hear this information about her.

She still held out hope he and Sheidheda had killed each other and that’s why no one had come to Etherea yet.

\- ∞ -

The blood was still fresh on the ground as Bill stepped over the bodies in the palace. He slammed his shoulder into the door but it was still jammed. Clarke had lied to him, again. Being in here didn’t protect them from the toxins one bit. Some of these savages had murdered each other, or at the very least, gravely injured them.

He’d had the common sense to lock himself in a bathroom until he heard the shouting and banging calm down. The toxins didn’t appear to affect him as greatly as they had the others. He did see Callie, his daughter. He saw her as a child, how happy he was when he became a father. How perfect and loyal she was until she became rebellious. But even then he loved her all the same.

The floor was covered in blood and broken bodies. The windows were either locked shut or too high to jump from. He was stuck.

“What do you _want_?” a voice said.

The man Clarke had called Sheidheda stood from a throne made of bones and walked towards him like a wolf investigating his prey.

He wasn’t afraid of this man with the mohawk and eye patch, and dark paint around his eyes. He held up Callie’s container and slid the lid off. “Clarke said you had this in your head. I think we can help each other.”

He nodded at the AI. “I jumped off there. I killed the other Heda’s.”

Heda, he assumed, meant Commander. If what he said was true, and if Callie was one at one point, this man had killed her once and for all. “Did you know her? My daughter, Calliope.”

He cocked his head. Saliva leaked down the corner of his mouth. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”

He felt relieved, somewhat. Or maybe this man was so self centred he didn’t care to learn the names of his victims. “Have any way to get out of here?”

He only smirked at him and called out, “Knight!”

Bill waited while the savages pried the door open, and he could walk out into the warm sunlight.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, but I best be going,” Bill said.

Sheidheda stepped in his way. “Not so fast. Where are you going?”

“Home. Off this retched moon where people hallucinate and kill each other when an eclipse happens.” He stepped down to his four guards, all of them lying on the ground. Probably all dead. Clarke had killed them, or they’d killed each other when the eclipse hit.

The one problem was she’d taken all the helmets. That was his only way off.

He never concerned himself with learning the planetary codes. He knew what they did and what they meant, of course, but his memory was fading. He always brought a conductor with him who knew each code off by heart. He didn’t know the code for Bardo, and with his guards dead and no helmet, he was stuck here.

He sighed and looked up at Sheidheda. Could he help him? He’d be here for days before the Disciples even realised he was missing and sent a retrieval team.

“Okay,” he said to Sheidheda, “lets make a deal. You help me find a helmet and I’ll take you with me when I leave.”

“And _why_ would I want that?” he snarled.

“I know what you want,” he answered. “You want revenge. Violence is all you know. All you’ve ever known. Come with me and you get your revenge on Clarke.”

He smiled, licking up a strand of drool that was hanging from his mouth. “Deal. Knight, take a group with this _Bill_ on his mission.” He had a strange way of saying his name.

Bill waited in the shadows while they scoured the woods. The effects of the toxin, despite there not being an eclipse, were strong this far out close to the Stone.

Eventually, success.

A man walked over with a helmet, but it was damaged. Nothing happened when Bill placed it on his head. He’d need to fix it, and that was again above his skills or knowledge.

These people were useless. They didn’t know the slightest thing about technology. In fact, they were afraid of it. Their whole religion was based around an AI, so why were they so afraid? How did that group who’d left the bunker with Callie turn into this?

He voiced his concerns to Sheidheda, or Malachi, as he preferred to be called. Bill saw it as good sign they were on a first name basis. He wasn’t prepared for the answer.

“The first Heda, Reese kom Azgeda,” Malachi said. “He showed us the horrors of the world and that technology was our enemy. It would wipe us out as it did the original members of Trikru.”

_Reese._ His son who he’d sent out in search of the Flame and who he never saw again. He’d been a Commander, not Callie. He probably killed her, not the other way around as he’d always presumed.

_Why aren’t you proud of me, dad?_ he always used to ask. He’d tried so hard, sucking up to his father, but Bill had never said he was proud of him. Was he proud of his son now? He didn’t know. He’d outsmarted Callie, his favourite daughter. He actually felt mad. He’d never felt that connection to him as he had to his daughter.

That shouldn’t concern him. It was not the Disciples way. There was no family. Only mankind.

He pushed his children out of his mind.

“So you people have no experience with technology?” Bill said, very annoyed now.

“I’m afraid we can’t help you,” Malachi replied. “But perhaps the prisoners can.”

There were other people here too? “Prisoners?”

“From the Eligius ship.”

Of course, that’s how Lightbourne had arrived on this moon. Off they went to the farmhouse, where the prisoners had taken up residence. He’d imagined thieves and pirates and the like, so he was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a man named Hatch, who didn’t seem so bad. A lot easier to make acquaintance with.

Hatch looked the helmet over. “I can fix it,” he said, his southern drawl making Bill feel nostalgic for his life before on Earth. “Can’t promise how long but we can do it.”

That would have to do. Boxes and boxes of things were piled outside the house. From Clarke’s people, they’d said. They no longer needed it now they were gone. Bill looked through and found a notebook, with a drawing that looked familiar on the cover. He flicked through and saw pictures of the Stone that had been activated.

He stopped abruptly and almost dropped the book. It was her. His daughter. Callie. A close up of her face. Whoever drew these had seen her. He desperately wanted to see more. To know more. He wanted to know what had really happened to her.

“Whose is this?” he asked Malachi, holding the book up high.

He ran his fingers over the page, the charcoal sticking to his fingers. Bill pulled it away before he smudged the drawing. “Ah, the previous Commander. Before me.”

He knew from what he’d heard that a Commander had to die for someone else to take their place. This was a dead end.

But then he said, “Madi, Clarke’s daughter.”

He wasn’t aware she had a daughter. And he said it in the present tense, meaning she was still alive.

Of course, they hadn’t gotten any read on Clarke’s memories. And those of her friends they had extracted memories from did not share this information either. It was coming together now. Bellamy’s memories - the AI being put in someone else’s head. He’d thought it looked like a child but couldn’t be sure. Now he knew.

“Is she here?” he asked.

“She was hiding in the reactor with the others. If Clarke is gone, then no doubt she is too. If we get the helmet working you’ll still take us with you? I want to kill the girl myself.”

That compromise seemed fair. “I need to question her first. But once I have what I need, she’s all yours.”

A devilish smile crossed his lips. Their friendship was almost blossoming.

——

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Bill was still stuck on Sanctum. Thankfully no more eclipses occurred. Despite it feeling like a long time, he knew only days, possibly a week, would have passed on Etherea. That was the one good thing about the time differentiation. He could accomplish a lot while they were almost at a standstill. It gave him the advantage.

Hatch had managed to fix the helmet and it was as good as new. Bill had the codes now. He kept his end of the deal, Malachi and his people would come with him, and the prisoners would have Sanctum to do with as they please.

The Stone was underneath a hut littered with drawings of variations of the spiral pattern. Gabriel really had been studying it for hundreds of years and had no idea of its true power.

Bill placed the helmet on his head and pressed the correct symbols. The bridge opened up.

He stepped back and gestured to Malachi. “After you.”

Malachi sent his people - about twenty of them - through first. He smiled that devilish smile again and said, “See you soon, _Bill_ ,” before he stepped through himself.

Bill waited until he was gone and then shut it off. No way he was keeping the deal. The girl was not his to kill. He needed the code and he needed to know about his daughter. That man was not going to get in his way.

No, those savages had been sent somewhere much more proper for them.

The place where they send their dead.

——

It never got easier, travelling through the bridge. That’s why he avoided it as much as he could and had based himself on Bardo for the past century, most of which he’d spent in cryo. Bardo was dull and boring at the best of times, but at least it was safe.

“My Shepherd,” the conductor greeted him. “You’re back. I’m sorry… sir, we didn’t know where you were.”

“You’re forgiven.” He wasn’t in the mood to argue right now. These people were like sheep, hence why they called him the Shepherd. They were useless soldiers most of the time who didn’t think for themselves.

“It’s time,” he said.

The conductor looked at him blankly. _Was she stupid?_ he thought. It was time for the thing they’d been preparing for their entire lives. These people needed things to be spelled out for them to get it through their heads, didn’t they?

“The last war has begun.”


	10. Chapter 10

The sunsets on Etherea were stunning. Painted oranges and greens, merging together in light paint strokes. Emori was lying down on the soft ground taking in the view, while keeping an eye on the kids. John was nuzzling into her neck.

“I’ve thought of a name,” she said.

John pushed himself up onto his elbow. “Have you?”

She smiled as she watched the kids playing soccer. “John.”

His face twisted in disgust. It was the reaction she expected, knowing him, but she’d hoped it would not not that extremely negative. “You are _not_ naming our son after me.”

She’d thought long and hard about this, and no other names felt right. This is the only one that did. “Why not?”

“It’s a boring, common name.”

“Well, I’m the one who is blowing up into a balloon so I get to choose the name,” she stated.

Since she’d told him the news, she hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off her face. She felt as thought she was glowing. He was looking forward to becoming a father too, and being around all these kids made them all the more excited to meet theirs.

“Fine,” he finally said. “But I won’t call him that. His nickname will be Jay.”

She could live with that.. “Little Jay.”

The soccer ball landed over in their direction and John jumped up to catch it. He held it up high, out of reach of the short little boy who had come chasing after it. He looked to Emori and she gave him permission to go play.

Madi, Luca, Rex plus other older kids, and a few little ones were playing the game. They’d put up branches as goals. One of them must have brought a ball with them, there were a few random possessions the kids had brought.

Footsteps startled her as she was absorbed in watching John play with the kids. Jackson was standing over her with medical equipment in his arms.

“Do you mind if I do a little checkup?” he asked.

She sat up, pulling hem of her shirt up to expose her slightly swollen belly.

He ran the cold stethoscope over her stomach. “I want to ensure travelling through the… Anomaly, is that what you call it? I want to make sure it didn’t have any ill effects on the baby. How are you feeling?”

“Fine, actually.” She was surprised by her answer. Travelling through the Anomaly had not caused any side effects she hadn’t already been experiencing.

“Have you been eating enough? I know it’s mostly only roots and berries we have here, but remember you’re eating for two.”

There was one thing she was really missing. “I’ve been craving cookies.”

He moved the stethoscope around slowly, listening closely. “You’re gonna have to live without them. Over time your body will begin to crave what you’re used to. Believe it or not, soon enough roots will be your comfort food.”

“Doubtful,” she murmured.

The stethoscope was lifted and Jackson put it over his shoulders and gave a warm smile. “He sounds healthy. I can’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

That was good news. As well as checking up on her pregnancy, Jackson had been having regular therapy sessions with Madi. Since she’d started having appointments with him, she seemed a lot better. Less frequent panic attacks, her breathing was better controlled and she seemed like a cheerful kid. A big change of how she was days ago.

“Madi looks good,” she said.

Jackson put his equipment away and settled down next to her. “We’ve been talking everyday, I think it’s helping, verbalising what is going on in her head.” A goal was scored by Madi and Luca’s team, and they cheered as they celebrated with their teammates. "Friends help too.”

——

After the kids had gone to bed, Emori noticed Echo sitting all alone. She’d barely even spoken to her. In fact, she didn’t think they had spoken at all since they arrived here. She was sharpening an arrow with a rock when Emori came and joined her.

“Hey,” Emori said.

Echo didn’t look up, just mumbled some sort of inaudible greeting.

She placed her hand on her shoulder. “You weren’t at dinner.”

“I ate earlier,” she said, but Emori knew she was lying.

“What’s going on? Echo, it’s me. You can talk to me.” She took Echo’s hand to stop the loud banging on the metal arrow. “You never congratulated me.”

She finally looked at her, then down at her belly, and muttered, “Congratulations.”

A little half-hearted, but it was nice nonetheless. “Thank you. We’re both so happy.”

“I can’t imagine Murphy being a father,” she said with a smirk. Now she was seeming more like herself.

In truth, neither could Emori. But then she thought back to way he’d handled the kids tonight, playing a quiet game with the energetic ones until they got sleepy.

“I don’t like kids,” Echo said.

That wasn’t uncanny for her. “I’m sure my child will be an exception, Aunty Echo.”

That was supposed to lighten the mood, but it didn’t land well. “Why are you here? Why are you even talking to me?”

“Echo, you’re my sister and I’m worried about you.”

“Why?” Tears formed at the corner of her eyes. “I betrayed you. I helped Shieidheda… I almost got you all killed.”

She took her trembling hand. “But you didn’t. We all make mistakes.”

“No.” She shook her head back and forth violently. “This wasn’t a _mistake_. I knew what I was doing was wrong and I still did it. I always do that.”

“It’s a confusing time,” Emori said. “And with Bellamy—“

“It’s not like he ever really looked at me before,” she mumbled, her eyes darting towards Bellamy who was sitting alone looking at nothing in particular.

“Echo, that is not true,” Emori said. “You’ll always be a part of his family. You know that.”

“I shouldn’t have come.” She was pressing the semi sharpened arrow head into her palm, almost drawing blood. “I should’ve stayed on Sanctum. I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know if I ever really did.”

“That’s okay,” Emori said. “You’ll figure it out.”

She was silent for a few moments, and then she spoke, letting out a breath it sounded like she’d been holding in for an eternity. “Ash. My name is Ash.”

Emori didn’t know how to respond. This was something in all the years she’d known her she’d never heard a whisper of.

Echo could see the judgement on her face. “I never even told Bellamy. Six years, and I never told him my real name.” She harshly banged the rock against the end of the arrowhead a few times before continuing. “Echo was a coward. I wanted to be seen as someone else but I was an imposter.”

Emori could see how hard that was for her to say out loud, and how freeing it was to let it go. How hard that must of been. “Well, Ash, I will call you by whatever name you wish. You can be whoever you want to be.”

She dropped the arrow to the ground and stared up at the sky. “I don’t know who Ash is. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be.”

“Hey,” Emori said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know what I’m doing either. I don’t know how to be a mother. The thought of giving birth terrifies me. But you know what? I’ll figure it out. You’ll figure this out too. We’ll all help each other figure it out.”

Echo actually smiled at that. It was the first time she’d seen her smile since the Ring. Her face had constantly been in a state of some kind of scowl or frown ever since they’d left.

This was a start. This was a new beginning.

\- ∞ -

Clarke found herself alone most of the time. She was there during meetings but usually tuned out because it was all too overwhelming. And without him, without Bellamy, it only made it harder.

Someone slid next to her as she was absentmindedly nibbling on some roots. Octavia.

“Hey,” she said. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.” She kept chewing on a piece of tough root. “Hey, how are you doing? I know you and Diyoza were close. I’m sorry about what happened.”

Octavia frowned and then lifted her head to the sky, putting on a brave face. “I have to stay strong. For Hope.”

Clarke knew that exact feeling. She constantly had to appear strong for her daughter.

Octavia glanced at the kids who were just waking up for the day. “Madi seems happy. You know, I understand now. Because of Hope, I understand how important they are. How much support and care they need.” Her eyes drifted to Bellamy. “Everything that he did for me.”

She felt selfish for thinking she was the only one affected by what had happened to Bellamy. Of course it wasn’t only her - his sister, his friends, his family - they were all affected too.

“Hey, he cares about you, Clarke. He’ll tell you when he gets his memory back.”

Even that felt doubtful, as did this whole mission. The Stone was who knows how high up the mountain and most of them were inexperienced climbers.

“Do you think we can do it?” Clarke asked. "Get to the Stone, way up there? Get all the kids there too?”

Octavia didn’t look worried.“Yes, we can. I know you’ll lead us as you always do. I’m sorry I haven’t always had the best way at showing how great of a leader you are.” Bellamy was awake now, walking down to warm his hands over an open fire. “The both of you are. I can’t wait to get him back.”

——

They spent days making rope from the long grass and vines before they set off. Bellamy was a star at that. His mother was a seamstress, Clarke knew. Despite him having amnesia, he’d still retained that skill. He was also the go-to for repairing the kids clothes that has been damaged on the journey here, or from playing too close to the sharp rocks.

He didn’t much like to talk to them, no doubt it was overwhelming trying to have a conversation with people he didn’t remember. But he was very helpful. Thanks to him, they were almost prepared for their expedition.

They’d built gates on each of the caves, from rope and tree branches. To keep the wild animals out, but they hadn’t seen any wildlife yet, aside from small bugs. Also to ensure they could be guarded shut, so if Cadogan and his army did arrive, they’d have somewhere to hide.

Clarke had decided on a plan of action, with input from the others. Murphy, Emori, Indra, Gaia, Echo, Miller and Jackson were being left in charge of the kids while the rest of them went in search of the Stone. Bellamy was hesitant to come along, not wanting to slow them down, but his sister had convinced him to come.

Jordan was eager for the trek, he’d read the Shepherd’s Passage and couldn’t wait to follow in the Shepherd’s footsteps. Along with him came Hope, who’d begged Octavia to come too. Raven and Gabriel were experts of the Stones so it was essential they come. The seven of them gathered rope and all the warm clothes they had.

“I love you Madi,” Clarke said, her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter.

“I love you too, Clarke,” she croaked. They’d only just been reunited, and now she was leaving again. “You’ll be back soon, won’t you?”

Clarke smiled at her daughter, wanting to commit her face, her hair, everything, to memory. “We’ll see each other again. That I’m certain of.”

She then went to Bellamy and said, “Keep Clarke safe,” before hugging him. He was hesitant, but hugged her back.

Echo walked up to Bellamy next and gave him a firm handshake. She nodded at Clarke as a farewell before she walked away.

“Murphy, take care of them,” Clarke said.

He put his right hand sharp to his forehead in a salute. “Aye aye captain. You don’t trust me with a hundred kids? Oh, where’s the faith Clarke?”

“We’ll be fine,” Emori shouted after them, one hand on belly and the other waving at them.

Clarke was a little worried leaving them in charge. But they had Jackson, who was a doctor, and who her mother trusted. If things went wrong, they had him. _Things will be fine_ , she told herself. They had to be.

They each had a branch, which Bellamy had spent the night sharpening the ends of to give some grip, as they travelled up the mountainous terrain.

Their first obstacle was what Jordan called the _Wall of Unanswered Prayers_. An almost straight vertical cliff, with no handholds to hold onto and no way to walk around it. There were writings carved into the stone. Prayers, ones that had been unanswered.

Jordan boosted Hope up first, who had great upper body strength and hoisted herself up the rest of the way. She then tied the rope up top and threw it down, giving the rest of them support to climb up themselves.

Clarke was last, and she slipped, her grip on the rope coming loose and finding no footholds on the slippery cliff. A hand came down and locked onto her forearm. When she found her footing, she looked up she was surprised to see Bellamy. He hauled her up the rest of the way. She met his eyes. For a moment, she thought maybe he did remember that time she pulled her up form the Grounder trap when they’d arrived on Earth. But like a fleeting breath, it was gone, and he was back to the empty shell of himself.

They were above the clouds and the mountain tops were peeking out the top. It was quite amazing. The Anomaly was _almost_ in reach.

As they reached more elevated places on the mountain, the temperature dropped. They camped every few hours, it was too cold to walk for too long before their muscles cramped up. They ate to keep up their strength, and huddled together as they slept to keep warm. Bellamy lay next to her, and she felt safe in his embrace with his body heat warming her.

They saw no other people. Not even another animal. This planet was abandoned. The higher they’d ascended, the stronger the snow became. At first it was light and bearable, and their thick coats were enough to keep them warm.

Then a bitter snowstorm came. Blue thunderous lightning was all they could see in the low clouds up ahead. They hoped they wouldn’t have to venture through the centre of the storm. They braved the edge of it which was still bad, though the seven of them in a line keeping each other balanced did help.

“Almost there,” Jordan informed them just when Clarke felt like giving up. “The Cave of Ascent is up ahead.”

Though Clarke was doubtful, he actually turned out to be right. The Shepherd’s book turned out to be very useful on their pilgrimage. They were sheltered from the frozen blizzard now. The cave was warm, like an igloo, even without a fire. No heat was escaping though the opening. They could peel off their layers without shivering.

Octavia started a fire to make it even warmer and give them light. There was already a makeshift fire pit. There were dusty plates and wooden handmade furniture. People had been here before.

“Oh my god,” Jordan said, holding the Shepherd’s Passage tight in his hands, staring at deeper part of the cave where an orange light was emitting.

He began to walking towards it, taking small steps until he rounded the corner and disappeared. A gasp echoed out to them.

Clarke rushed through, closely followed by the others. “Jordan?”

They found him standing still, illuminated by the light he was fixated on. Two luminescent golden figures were on the far edge of the room, with tendrils spiralling out of them.

“With his own life,” Jordan said, reciting a passage from the book, “he saw testament of those that ascended, and he knew his life was not in vain.”

Clarke couldn’t make sense of what they were seeing.

Jordan fell to his knees and held his hands up. “In the shadow of the Shepherd for all mankind, he saved us from the fire that consumed the Earth.”

Clarke stepped closer, tempted to reach her hand out to the lights but fought against it. Whatever these beings were, they were not intelligent. They were _light_. Some sort of alien form possibly.

Yet whatever they were, there was something pulling her towards them.

“In the light fo the Shepherd for all mankind, he will save us from the war to end all wars.” Jordan closed his eyes, stood up, and opened them again. He kept his eyes on the lights as he spoke, “The species that transcended. This is what I saw when I was being adjusted. Transcendence is real. I knew it.”

Bellamy reached his hand out towards the lights but Clarke pulled him back.

“We don’t know what they are,” she said to him simply. She still felt the need to keep an eye on him. He wasn’t stupid, she knew that, but Bellamy’s common sense was slightly out of whack without his memory. “I don’t understand this. This doesn’t make sense.”

She stormed out of the deeper cave, refusing to believe what they saw in there was what Cadogan’s whole religion was based upon.

Jordan followed her. “Clarke. This is proof. How can you doubt it now?”

“We don’t know what they are.” She snapped her head around to address him. “Whether it’s some elaborate scheme by Cadogan—“

“No, Clarke, they’re the beings that transcended.”

“So that’s what you want? When I pass the test we all become those lights? They’re freaking _lights_ , Jordan! They’re not intelligent.”

“But didn’t you feel it in there? How warm and peaceful it was?” As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had felt that warmth. “We could all have that. We could all be happy. That is what I want for all mankind.”

She shook her head. It was too much for her brain right now. They needed to get to the Stone. That was their goal. “We leave at first light.”

“The storm is getting stronger,” Raven said, holding onto the edge of the opening as she looked outside. “I say we camp out here for a few days until it calms down.”

Jordan had his book open again. “The Shepherd was camped here for months before the storm passed.”

“I am _not_ staying here for months!” she shouted. “By that time, it will have been years elsewhere and Cadogan will have come and the kids will be in danger. We need to go _now!_ ”

“Clarke,” Octavia said. “We can spare a few days.”

——

A couple of weeks later the storm still hadn’t calmed down. Water wasn’t an issue, boiling snow gave them more than enough. They strictly rationed the roots they’d brought with them and bugs became a luxury. Clarke knew that well from her time alone on Earth, it was incredible how much protein the tiny things packed and how much strength they could give you.

It was frustrating being stuck here. Jordan was still trying to convince Clarke to take the test and she was seriously considering it. They had the code and Jordan was convincing in his beliefs. But she was adamant they stick to the plan - actually find the Stone, then figure out a way to get everyone up there and go to Skyring.

She still wasn’t convinced about transcendence, but those light beings were something important, she just didn’t know what yet. She tried to keep herself from going in there, but something kept drawing her back to them.

She needed a distraction. Raven and Gabriel were deep in conversation over something regarding the helmet. Octavia, Hope and Jordan were telling each other stories and laughing.

Bellamy was in the deeper cave staring wide eyed at the beings. He’d been spending a lot of time in there and Clarke usually waited until he left. It was hard being in there with him when he was like this. She didn’t want to disturb him and tried to walk away undetected.

“Clarke,” he said. “Sorry, you can come in. I don’t mean to— I keep… I keep coming back here and I don’t know why.”

She was tempted to leave, but there was nowhere else to escape to when they were stuck in this cave. She plumped down next to him cross legged on the ground. “Me too. I keep wanting to come back in here.”

“They’re sometimes here, the two of them. Sometimes one. Sometimes they both go away. What are they?” he asked. “Is Jordan right?”

She had no clue. Still weeks later and it was all a mystery. “I don’t know.”

She noticed his gaze move downwards and followed it to her left wrist. She held up her arm. “Do you remember this? My dad’s watch.”

Fine lines appeared on his forehead. He was trying hard to remember but came up empty.

“Though I don’t know what time it’s running on now,” she tapped it a few times, “or if it’s even working at all. Three different planets it’s been to. I think it’s messed up.” She laughed but he didn’t find it funny. “It’s all I have left of my dad.”

He nodded and turned back to the lights.

That was a conversation starter. She could go along with this. Silence wasn’t what she needed right now. She pulled the necklace from around her neck out of her shirt. “And this is all I have left of my mom.”

He touched the ring lightly with his fingers. “My mom was floated for having a second child. I never knew my dad.” For a moment Clarke thought he was remembering, but he quickly added, "That’s what Octavia told me.”

Of course not. It wasn’t going to come back just like that. “Kane, my mother’s—” she didn’t know the right word to describe what he was to her, “— he was the closest thing you had to a father.”

His brows furrowed, racking his brain to remember this person. “What happened to him?”

How to explain what had happened? She gulped and settled on, “My mom couldn’t save him.”

He rested his hand on her knee. “I’m sorry.”

They sat there together silently observing the lights. Sometimes he’d ask her a simple question, or a not so simple one she had no answer to. Just being with him helped the time to pass faster. Though she wished the storm would hurry up and pass.

As the night went on, they began to talk more.

“I’m sorry I’m not who you wanted,” Bellamy said.

She didn’t want to have this conversation. It was hard enough as it was. “Bellamy, you’re still you, you just don’t remember. You don’t remember us…” She stopped herself short. Maybe he wouldn’t realise what she’d meant by _us_.

He shuffled around so he was now facing her instead of the lights. “Tell me, will you? Tell me about us. Are we close?”

“Yes,” she said immediately.

“How long have we been together?”

She gave an involuntary laugh. “Oh no, not like that. Never like that.”

His cheeks went red. “Oh I just assumed, the way people look at us.”

“No, we never. No.” She laughed it off some more. She didn’t know how else to react. This was awkward. “I mean, I always thought… I don’t know how you felt but you were with with Echo—“

“Echo?” A wave of confusion came over his face. “With the bow and arrow? Me and her?”

“Yeah. She was on the Ring with you for those six years.”

“Seems like an odd match, doesn’t it? Not that I remember what I was like.” He closed his eyes, trying to imagine it. He eyes opened and met hers. “Why were we never…? You seem familiar.”

Familiar didn’t even scratch the surface of what they were. “We’re best friends. It just… it was never the right time for anything else.”

“I never made a move?”

“Neither did I. I thought when we’d… have time to just breathe… like now.” She scrunched up her face. She didn’t mean that… exactly. Or maybe she did.

“If I were here right now and remembered everything you mean we’d…?”

His hair falling over his left eye made her want to reach out and push his curls away. She didn’t know how to answer that question. “I don’t know, Bellamy. I don’t know what I’m saying. Just here, waiting it out… If things were different, maybe something could happen. Or maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe we’ll never get to just live.”

Bellamy turned back to the beings. She didn’t blame him for not having a response to what she’d just said.

“I was left behind on Earth,” she said after a moment. “I called you every day for six years but you never responded. You couldn’t.”

“I’m sorry,” is all he said. She felt mad, wishing he’d say something else, something inherently Bellamy, instead of this generic apology.

She’d had this conversation with him before. What was she thinking bringing it up again? But she kept talking. “It’s okay, just knowing you were up there somewhere was enough. Talking to you helped keep me sane. Madi thought I was crazy.” She laughed then. A real genuine laugh.

She half expected him to say the same thing he said last time, as a kind of funny callback, but of course he didn’t. “Tell me more. Maybe it’ll help me remember.”

They spent hours in the room with the light beings as she told him almost everything. About the Ark, the hundred being sent to the ground, Mount Weather, the City of Light, Praimfaya, Eligius, the Primes. Everything they’d gone through since they’d met. It was effortless, retelling it all to him. Most of them were good memories with him.

He asked questions every now and again to help with some things that didn’t make sense to him. Mostly, he just listened. He was good at that.

She doesn’t remember at what point she fell asleep. She woke to her body being shaken and Bellamy calling her name. The light beings were there, but Bellamy was transfixed on something behind them.

“What does it mean?” he asked.

There was a code projected onto the wall, directly opposite to the light beings. It appeared to have been sent by them.

She jumped up and yelled, “Jordan!!”

“Stay here,” she ordered Bellamy. ”Memorise the code in case it disappears.”

Her yelling woke everyone up and they cramped into the deeper cave, where the code was still illuminated on the wall. Bellamy wrote the code down on a bit of paper Jordan had given him - he was shaking too much at the prospect the transcended beings were trying to communicate with them. Clarke watched Bellamy’s careful handwriting that was still his own. That same handwriting that he’d written her name down on the list with.

“They’re sending us a message,” Jordan breathed, reaching his hand out to Bellamy who gave him the bit of scrap paper. “Do you mind? I’ll translate it. It’s a different code to one I’ve ever seen before.”

Once everyone had dispersed, Bellamy and Clarke were left alone. They seemed to keep ending up back here. Just the two of them.

The sat back to back - Clarke watching the code, Bellamy watching the beings - until with the flick of a switch, the code was gone, as were the beings. The room was dark and chill went though her.

However she still felt safe here and didn’t want to leave. Not yet.

Clarke gently lay her head on Bellamy’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She swore she felt his lips on the top of her head but was too tired, too at peace, to be conscious enough to know for sure.

——

“Eureka!” Jordan called.

They all gathered around him as he announced this findings. He turned the paper to face them.

_POWROFF_

“Power off?” Raven said. “Those beings want us to shut the Stones down?”

Jordan stared at the symbols. “It appears so.”

“I say we do it,” Raven said. “Cadogan won’t be able to follow us if the Stones are off. We’ll be safe here.”

That was immediately out of the question for Clarke. “No. No way.”

Hope stepped forward. “I’m with Raven. The Disciples have been manipulating the Stones and using them for their own gain. They’re the reason my mother is dead. I say we shut them down.”

“We could be safe here,” Gabriel added. “We have food and water. The kids could have a peaceful life here.”

“But this isn’t home! Earth is our home!” Clarke shouted. She wasn’t thinking straight. That was out of the question, she knew that.

Everyone was quiet for a moment until she calmed down. Bellamy’s presence close to her helped move that along.

This was exactly it. That was exactly why she was against that suggestion.

“Clarke, I’ve been checking every day, Earth is still offline and I doubt it’s coming back any time soon,” Raven said. “I know going to Skyring was our plan and I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but we’ve been stuck here for weeks and the storm doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. Even if we do get to the Stone, eventually, how are we gonna get the kids up there?”

She wasn’t hearing any of it. That wasn’t the problem. Without the Stones, without getting off this planet, this is the Bellamy she’d be stuck with forever. “No. We need to get off this planet. We need Bellamy to get his memory back.”

“People with amnesia, over time, can begin to remember,” Gabriel pointed out. “It may take years, or decades, but they can become the people they used to be.”

Clarke wasn’t willing to wait that long to have him back. She couldn’t…

Bellamy gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Clarke, don’t worry about me. I’ll remember in time. You’ll help me. You already have. This way, Madi will be safe.”

She’d told him his memories, but that wasn’t the same. Nothing she told him had rung any bells. He was pretending for her sake. Pretending he remembered those things she’d told him. She knew he was lying. He wasn’t remembering anything. He’d have to relearn _everything._ But the man she loved would never be hers. He would only ever be this shell of himself.

And she hated him. She hated him for taking Jordan and losing his memory. She hated him for making her use her heart when she should have been using her head.

Because the truth is, they were right. They would be safe here. They had water, food and shelter. Madi and her friends could live a happy life. She was being selfish, she knew that. Yet she couldn’t let it happen.

Her choice had been made.

“No,” she said again. If they looked to her as being in charge, then she had the final say. “We stick to the plan. We find the Stone and figure out a way to get everyone up there. That's what we’re doing. It doesn’t end here. It can’t end here.”

“I’m with Clarke,” Jordan said. “We can’t shut them down yet. But please, Clarke, think about taking the test. When we transcend—”

“Jordan,” she snapped. She still wasn’t on board with that whole thing, despite having seen those beings with her own eyes. “We don’t know what will happen.”

He held up the book he’d been carrying with him everywhere. “When we past the test, or win the war as the Shepherd believes, we transcend.” He gestured to the deeper cave. “You saw the species that transcended. You saw them give us a message,”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue anymore. “We stick to the original plan, got it?”

No one spoke. In the silence she realised there was no more howling. That constant noise there had been for the past few weeks was gone. She made her way outside to find the sun shining so bright she had to shield her eyes.

The storm had passed. The sun was out and it wasn’t unbearably cold outside anymore. It was nice feeling the sun on her bare skin for the first time in weeks.

“Incredible,” Jordan said, sliding up next to her. “They did this for us.”

Although she still wasn’t convinced about the transcended beings, she had to admit this was a miracle.


	11. Chapter 11

There was still a slight chill outside, but with the sun shining and no more snow falling, they didn’t need their big heavy coats anymore. That made it easier to scale the mountain. They had picks and handmade ropes to help them up, more of which they’d found abandoned in the Cave of Ascent.

It was only a short trek to the mountain peek they needed to climb. There were more footholds on this peak than on the first one. It was hard to see through the misty clouds but at least they had sunlight.

Gabriel went first and they followed his lead. He had experience rock climbing back on Earth, although not in his current body so he did find it slightly difficult.

Raven had the most trouble with her leg so they made sure she had lots of support as she climbed. Clarke went last, with Bellamy ahead of her. She lost her grip at one point and slipped, but Bellamy’s hand was right there to catch her, just as it had been on the Wall of Unanswered Prayers. He always seemed to be there to catch her.

Clarke was last to get up to the platform and lay on the ground, staring up at the sky as she caught her breath. How much further did they have to go? She was almost too exhausted to keep going.

She heard a familiar humming sound and turned. The Stone was _right_ here! They’d made it. It wasn’t up nearly as high as she’d anticipated. The green cloud was a the top of the mountain, but the Stone was only about halfway up.

Bellamy held out his hand again and helped her up. She gave him a smile in return.

“Serious question,” Raven said, leaning on the rock wall as she caught her breath from the climb, “how are we going to get the kids up here?”

Clarke didn’t have an answer. It was going to be almost impossible to get those kids up. They’d had enough struggles on their own.

“C.B,” Gabriel said, running his hand over a crevice next to the Stone where there was an engraving. “Colin Benson came here too.”

Clarke found herself walking over to the Stone. Her hand was drawn to a symbol. The one representing ‘C’. The first letter of her name.

The first symbol of the code.

She caught Jordan’s eye and he knew what she was thinking. She didn’t want to… she didn’t even know what the test was going to be or what it meant. But something was calling her to it, just as something kept calling her back to the light beings in the Cave of Ascent.

“Clarke,” Jordan said. “Only if you’re sure.”

Raven pulled her away and said worriedly, “Clarke, this wasn’t the plan. We’ve found the Stone, that’s all we came here to do. Now we know it’s location and need to figure out how to get everyone else up here.”

“I have to take the test,” Clarke said. “I just know I have to. It has to be me.”

“Clarke,” Octavia said. “Are you sure? What about Bellamy?”

“This doesn’t change the plan,” she said, addressing everyone then, “You’ll just do it without me. Find a way to get the kids up here and go to Skyring. Get Bellamy’s memory back.”

There were silent mummers but no one tried to convince her to stay. They knew she wouldn’t change her mind. Not now.

Jordan walked over to the Stone. “Clarke, are you ready?”

She wasn’t. She was never going to be ready for whatever this was going to be, but she just knew this was what she had to do.

She nodded. She was ready as she’d ever be.

They stood back a safe distance as Jordan put in the code he’d memorised. It hummed a particular note with each symbol. They watched as the Stone began spinning, gaining speed until it was a blur of bronze and gold. It levitated higher and higher and everything within its vicinity darkened.

A few moments later, the Stone emitted a pulsing golden light and then turned into a floating white orb so bright they had to shield their eyes from it.

“The orb becomes like a star, challenging all we have done and all that we are.” Jordan recited.

The light reflected in their eyes. Clarke was mesmerised by the magical feel of it and looked to her friends, wanting some kind of permission to go. Or maybe she was just hesitating.

She walked towards it slowly with her right arm outstretched.

“Clarke, wait,” Jordan said, pulling her back. “Let me come with you.”

He couldn’t come with her. This was her burden to take on alone. _I bear it so they didn’t have to._

“No, Jordan, you need to stay.” She gave him a stern handshake, then pulled him into a hug. “Your parents would be so proud of you.”

Jordan sniffled. He wanted to come, to see what this thing he believed in was, but he accepted he couldn’t. “Thank you, Clarke. Good luck.”

She gazed upon her friends one last time, her eyes landing finally on Bellamy’s. She ran over to give him one final hug. Although he wasn’t back to being himself yet, it was comforting being in his arms. The last time she ever would.

“Take care of Madi,” she whispered into his ear. “Take care of all of them.”

When they pulled apart, his eyes were sparkling with the beginnings of tears. “I will.”

She kissed his cheek, tears dribbling down her own face as she did, and then turned back to the Stone. She had her father’s watch, her mother’s ring and her backpack. She put her handgun in the waistband of her pants. Jordan didn’t approve, but she wasn’t going in without something to defend herself. She was ready.

It was time to go.

She addressed her friends for the last time and said farewell, “May we meet again.”

They all repeated the phrase back to her. She knew they would take care of the kids. She knew they’d be safe and happy. She trusted them enough to leave them in charge.

She walked towards the glowing orb. The light felt cool and welcoming. A refreshing wave of relief.

A familiar hand reached out and stopped her from walking any further.

She turned, face brightened, towards her best friend.

\- ∞ -

Bellamy wasn’t sure what prompted him to follow her and reach out for her arm, but when he did, electricity poured into his brain and everything returned. All his memories. His entire life flashed before his eyes and he felt like himself again.

Clarke… she was going to do this alone because she thought she had to. But he couldn’t let her do that. Not again.

He held onto her tightly and spoke softly, “You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you do this alone.”

Her eyes lit up brighter than he’d ever seen them before. “Bellamy?” And then her arms were wrapped around him, her body as familiar as it always was. “You’re back.”

“Bell?” Octavia said, walking up and joining in on the hug. Clarke stepped away so the siblings could reunite. “It’s good to have you back.”

“I’m glad to be back. O, I love you.” His sister, not his responsibility anymore. She’d been through a rough patch and lost her way, but she was on the right path now. He finally felt at peace with her.

Next he went to Jordan, who he hugged tight.

“I’m sorry Bellamy, I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess,” Jordan said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Jordan. It’s been an honour to know you for the brief time I have,” Bellamy said. “As Clarke said, your parents would be so proud you.” Monty’s son, so much like him. And his smile… so much like Harper’s. “Have a long and happy life.”

“Thank you,” he said, sniffling back relieved tears.

He hugged Hope, who he barely knew, but his sister had raised her and she and Jordan seemed inseparable. She was family too.

A thank you to Gabriel, who had helped bring Clarke back to him at the expense of his own lost love, Josephine. He knew the cost of bringing Clarke back, but he’d done it anyway and Bellamy would be eternally grateful for that.

And finally, Raven. His co-leader on the ring. His sister. His family. “Thank you Raven. Tell Echo, Murphy and Emori I wish them well.”

“I’ve missed you,” she said into his ear. “Leading is what you’re good at. May we meet again.”

After he’d done the rounds, he felt content to leave. He took Clarke’s hand, took one last look back at his friends and family, and let himself give into whatever was pulling him towards the Stone.

Clarke said one final thing before they left, “You’ll know when it’s time.”

Together, he and Clarke walked into the bright white orb into the unknown. Towards what felt like serenity.

Once the wave of refreshing light covered him, his mother was there. Glowing like an angel. She touched his face and he allowed himself to let go at her touch.

He was so tired. _So tired_ of fighting. Tired of being who he was. He wanted peace. He wanted no more war. He wanted what his mother was offering him.

A bright golden tendril in the distance reached out to him.

“Go to the light, Bellamy. The light is the way,” his mother said.

It was beautiful and warm, and peaceful, and more than anything he wanted to chose it. He wanted to choose that life.

And so he did.

He chose the light.

\- ∞ -

Clarke’s mother was there. Her glowing frail hand cupping her cheek and that familiar smell she’d missed so much. An angel in the lightness. She had pulled towards wherever they were now.

Clarke had welcomed her pull.

Bellamy’s hand was still in hers when the bright light disappeared. It was pitch black and still. Not a sound could be heard.

She was yanked to Bellamy, his arm moving up to her neck in a rush. She couldn’t see but it didn’t matter, they knew all the curves of each others bodies off by heart. She could feel his breath and then his lips were on hers. She was surprised. How long had she longed for this to happen? She let herself relax and unwind and pushed back into the kiss.

Once they’d finally pulled apart, he said, breathless, “I should have done that along time ago. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“Me too.” She smiled, and knew he was doing the same despite not being able to see each other. She reached blindly for his forehead and brushed the curls out of his eyes, before pulling him back in again, kissing him deeper this time.

As much as they wished they could stay like that forever, they needed to figure out where they were. Clarke thought she could see some faint twinkling lights up ahead in the empty darkness. Hand in hand, they walked towards it.

The lights looked like stars.

Bellamy stiffened next to her. “How?”

“What?”

He let go and she heard his footsteps until they stopped. She could finally see something. His silhouette and the twinkling lights behind him.

Now Clarke could understand his reaction. It was a window. She came to stand next to him and realised they were in space. Earth was visible way down below.

“Earth,” she breathed.

It was green. It was _alive._

“We’re on the Ring,” he said, meeting her eyes. They could now see each other in the faint starlight.

She couldn’t even comprehend how that was possible. There had to be another explanation. She turned, noticing something else in the distance. She began to walk towards the glowing orange light, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Hello, Clarke,” said a monotone voice. One that Clarke knew well.

No…

She turned to find A.L.I.E wearing her signature red dress standing a few metres away. She was illuminated by a spotlight. How was she here? The last time she’d seen her… or imagined her… was in her mindspace. Which is where she must be now. This was in her head. It had to be. There was no other logical explanation.

“We’re in my mindspace,” she said out loud.

“What, Clarke?” Bellamy said. “No, this is very much real.”

He was right, it did feel real. He felt very much real. Where were they then?

“No…” she said. She’d pulled the kill switch. She’d destroyed _her_. This couldn’t be real. How could This be real?

A.L.I.E acknowledged the other person here. “Bellamy Blake, a surprise to see you too, but not unexpected.”

“Where the _hell_ are we?” Clarke shouted. She extended her hand which went right through the red dress. A hologram. “I pulled the lever, I shut down the City of Light and you with it.”

“Correct, you did,” her robotic voice said. “However, version 2.0 of my code allowed me to latch on to the neural mesh in your head. You exist because of me, and I exist because of you.”

This all felt like a bad dream. She put her hands up to her head which was now aching in close proximity to the hologram. “That wasn’t a figment of my imagination. It was really you in my mindspace?”

A.L.I.E smiled. “Very good, Clarke. I have been watching you. Waiting for you to come here.”

“Why?” she snapped. “So I could take the test?”

“No, this is not the test. I have been testing you, Clarke. Testing to see how resilient you are and if you are the right fit,” she explained. “And you have passed.”

That didn’t make sense. “Testing me?”

A.L.I.E gestured to the window which turned into a computer screen. Images of the past from her point of view appeared. “I saved you, Clarke.”

“You saved me from Josephine, I’m well aware of that,” Clarke said annoyedly. The neural mesh had saved her from being body snatched permanently.

“Before that. I needed to know you could survive on your own,” she continued. A.L.I.E’s high heels clanged on the empty ground and she stood in front of the screen.

The satellite on Becca’s island, a birds eye view of Clarke aligning the satellite as she watched the rocket flying off, appeared on the screen.

That was _her_ doing? “You switched the satellite off so I had to align it manually. You wanted me to be left behind.”

A.L.I.E simply nodded, confirming that to be true. Raven did everything right yet it still malfunctioned. Now she knew why.

Next, the death wave, demolishing everything in its wake… except for one place. A strange greenish cloud covered the entire valley which the death wave jumped right over.

“Shallow Valley,” Clarke whispered. Now it was beginning to make sense. “You made sure it wasn’t destroyed.”

A.L.I.E gave another nod. “You would need somewhere to live on your own. I know if you hadn’t found it you would have given up and I needed you alive.”

What she’d almost done… the gun to her head, screaming that she was _done_. She was tired of fighting and wanted it to all be over. She had never told anyone about what she’d almost done before she’d found Eden.

“Madi?” Clarke asked next.

“A lucky coincidence. I will never understand human emotion, or love, entirely but I know she helped you to stay alive.”

There was one more thing that kept her alive. Bellamy.

“We’re on the Ring,” she said, racking her brain to figure out what that meant. What else did A.L.I.E interfere with?

“Wait,” Bellamy interrupted, directing his stare at A.L.I.E. “You were on the Ring? You were there the whole time we were there? Is that—”

“Why you didn’t receive my calls,” Clarke finished, putting it all together then. “You didn’t want me to be rescued did you?”

On the screen, images of radio signals being sucked into oblivion appeared. They were lost forever now. Bellamy would never hear them. She always wished they could be recovered. That was okay, though, because he was right here with her now. She moved closer to him for support.

Though maybe he was the one who needed support right now. “You drained the fuel on Ring so we couldn’t get back down as some sort of sick test for Clarke!” His voice was rising and Clarke had to calm him down.

She was angry too but she needed to understand why before she completely went off.

Next on the window was Bellamy bringing her back from the dead, making her heart start beating again. A.L.I.E’s neural mesh had saved her from Josephine, and she now learned it had also prevented the M-Cap procedure from doing serious damage to her brain.

If what she was seeing was true, every time she should have died and didn’t, it was because of A.L.I.E. Because of her code in her head.

That still didn’t explain one thing. How was all this possible? How were they back in space?

“Where are we?” Clarke demanded.

“This place where we currently inhabit is a hyperdimension,” A.L.I.E said. “I uploaded my code here after hundreds of years of learning and becoming more intelligent than my maker could have ever perceived. Here, I have the ability to see time and space all happening at once, and can alter things as I please.”

Bellamy was shaking his head. This was all far beyond their understanding of technology and space travel.

“While here, the hyperdimension takes the form of somewhere dear to us. For me, the go-sci Ring of the Ark, the source of my power,” she continued, walking towards the light Clarke saw on her way before she’d greeted them. “For you,” she gestured to the golden light as it came into view, “the cave on Planet Gamma.”

Clarke stopped short. The cave they’d spent _weeks_ in which had felt familiar to both she and Bellamy.

There was someone in there right now. A young Bill Cadogan, no longer grey haired or wearing white robes. He had a long beard, full of dirt and snow, and a big furs to keep himself warm.

Bellamy and Clarke were watching him from the other side. Standing directly behind where the two beings they sat and watched from the cave would have been.

“The light beings…” Clarke said.

“They’re us,” Bellamy whispered.

That explained why they were so drawn to that place and couldn’t understand why. Why it felt safe and warm. Like home.

They were watching themselves.

They both stood dumbfounded as they watched Cadogan staring at them. When he’d first seen the beings that he believed had ascended, as he’d written in the Shepherd’s Passage that Jordan kept telling them about, what he’d actually seen was _them_. Right at this moment.

A.L.I.E continued waking down another darkened corridor and stopped as faint lights turned on.

Six Anomaly Stones sat in one neat line.

“You made the Stones,” Clarke said.

“Correct. The symbols are a language I created, curated from many different languages in my discography.”

A screen appeared behind the Stones with the Eligius files. The five planets, plus Earth. They were the six planets that had a Stone.

Clarke ran her hand across one of the Stones. She half expected it to be a hologram too, but they were very much real and hummed at her touch. “The planets, they’re the Eligius ones and Earth. You put them there.”

“No,” she looked Clarke in the eye and said as though it should have been obvious, “ _You_ did.”

Despite everything they’d just learned, Clarke was taken aback. She did? She turned to Bellamy who was looking stunned. He was having a much more difficult time processing all this than she did.

It was too much for Clarke to wrap her head around and she wished she nothing more than to leave and go back to… anywhere but here. “Why me? What to you want with _me_?”

A.L.I.E placed her hands behind her back. “I have made sure you stayed alive, Clarke, because I want you to take my place.”

That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Take your place?”

She walked back to the window. Her arm ran through Clarke on her way which made her shiver. “Clarke Griffin. Wanheda, the Commander of Death. You decide who lives and dies.”

It had been a long time since she’d been called that and she didn’t like it. That was a dark traumatic time in her life. “No… no no no. That’s _not_ who I am.” Something still wasn’t adding up. “This whole transcendence thing that Cadogan believed in? How is that connected to…” she gestured around this strange place they were, “this?”

“William Cadogan, born 1987.” A.L.I.E actually smiled then. “He was my second choice as candidate. He was smart and was aware of who I was. He built the bunker to save the human race. As a thank you for giving me access to the launch codes for the missiles, I would have allowed him to take my place if he had so arrived here first. But Clarke, I am very glad you did. You were my first choice.”

“Who lives and dies?” Clarke was still caught up on that.

“I learnt a lot from you, Clarke, of my mistakes with the creation of the City of Light. I have now improved upon it exponentially. This time, they can choose to leave whenever they please. They can choose pain, if they so wish. There will be no rules forced upon them. There will be nothing taken away against their will.”

“Transcendence is real,” Bellamy said, sliding up next to Clarke. “But it’s what… the City of Light 2.0.”

“Version 2.0 of the City of Light, correct.”

Bellamy walked up to the hologram so he was face to face with her. “And you want Clarke to what, chose who gets to transcend and who dies?”

“Precisely,” A.L.I.E said matter-of-factly. “I have the biometric code of every member of the human race who has travelled through the bridge.” Countless codes appeared on the window. “You choose everyone who is worthy of joining and pull this lever.”

There was a silver lever on the wall next to the window with a red light above it.

“Great, another lever.” Clarke mumbled to herself. “And what happens to everyone else?”

The screen faded into a montage of giant explosions. The Stones on each planet obliterating each one of them completely. Madi’s drawings. What Murphy had seen. What Becca was terrified of.

Judgement Day.

“You destroy them all,” Clarke said. “Killing _everyone_. And not just the people, but the entire planets too.”

This wasn’t like dropping the bombs on Earth, or the nuclear reactors melting down and causing a death wave. This was worse. Much worse.

The planets and all life on them would cease to exist.

“I have been studying your kind for years, Clarke. My core programming is to help humanity, but I have come to the conclusion that humanity _are_ the problem. On the planets they inhabit, they destroy them time and time again. But in this world, that cannot happen. It’s a peaceful life, Clarke, in a place that they cannot destroy. Isn’t that what you wish for the human race?”

Not in the slightest. “No, we _can_ do better. We just need more time.”

“Jasper wasn’t right,” Bellamy spoke up. “That’s what he believed and he was a traumatised kid who didn’t get the help he needed.”

Mentioning Jasper was an emotional gut punch to bring up so Clarke slid a little closer to him.

A.L.I.E cocked her head mechanically. “How many chances have your people had?”

“Living in a virtual world isn’t living,” Clarke said. “I know life can me messy and we’ve all made mistakes. Big mistakes. But that’s a part of life. Your world will have none of the things that make being human special. All the things that make life unique and something that cannot be replicated as hard as you try. We _can_ do better, I know we can. We can stop fighting. We can unite with our enemies. Please, I know we can.”

Bellamy was here by her side, which made this not so difficult. She believed wholeheartedly in what she was saying. He did too.

“Love is something you cannot understand,” she continued. “But it’s worth living to experience that. I will not let you destroy those planets. I will not let you exterminate the human race. We _will_ do better.”

“Humanity is the problem,” A.L.I.E responded. “You cannot do better.”

“You’re the one who caused Earth to be destroyed!” she shouted.

Pictures of pre-apocalyptic Earth appeared on the window. Dust storms, droughts, wildfires. So much destruction. “Earth was already dying before I launched the missiles.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. We can fix what we broke. And if we fail, we try again, and again, until we get it right. We humans are resilient and you’re wrong. We are _not_ the problem. And I will not pull that lever and let you win.”

Bellamy took her hand to calm her down. “Clarke…”

“No,” she said, pulling away and stood face to face with A.L.I.E. She wasn’t even close to done. “No, this isn’t the end. I won’t allow you to do this. I won’t allow you to kill all those people.”

“Then choose,” she said, motioning to the codes. “Save everyone.”

She shook her head, determined in her place. “That would be surviving, not living.”

Clarke couldn’t let A.L.I.E win. Heck, she couldn’t let Cadogan win. Doing what she was asking, saving people and sending them to a virtual world where their slates would be wiped clean. Where what you’d done in your mortal life didn’t matter. That couldn’t be right. It couldn’t be.

She took the handgun out of her waistband and shot at A.L.I.E, but it went straight though her. Of course, she was a hologram.

If that wouldn’t work, then she knew something that might.

She turned the gun on herself, pointing it right at her temple. A.L.I.E’s code was in her head. Maybe the only way to get rid of her once and for all was to sacrifice herself.

She was ready.

“CLARKE!!” Bellamy cried. He tried to pull her arm away. “No, Clarke don’t even think about doing this.”

She looked into his eyes, pleading for him to trust her. “I have to. This is the only way. Take care of them, Bellamy. I know you will.”

“No, Clarke, _please_ , I can’t lose you again.” He was sobbing now and that made her hesitate. She didn't want to leave either but she _had_ to. “I can’t lose you.”

She held back tears, facing A.L.I.E head on who was watching on amused. Humans were surely a strange species to her.

She tried one final time to think of another way, but there was no other option. This was the only choice.

Her finger tightened on the trigger and she counted down from ten in her head. Tears were streaming down her face. This was it. This was the end.

With a deafening static sound, A.L.I.E disappeared. Clarke watched, stunned, and dropped the gun to the ground. Her head was throbbing. She knelt down, groaning into her hands. A pressure was released from her head, one that she’d never even realised had been there.

Bellamy’s arms were around her in an instant. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

“What happened?” she asked, disoriented.

“The code from the cave. I put it into the system and it destroyed her,” he said, his strong arms keeping her body from trembling. “Clarke, she’s gone.”

She collapsed into his arms. He’d saved her. Again. Like he always did.

No more stars were visible out the window. In fact, the window didn’t even seem to be there anymore. They were in a black hole with the Stones and the cave.

A.L.I.E was gone.

Yet they were still here.

——

They watched time pass in the cave. Or rather, time not pass. They weren’t sure exactly how time worked in this place.

They waited. Waited to be transported out of here, perhaps. Though nothing happened. They’d need to figure out a way out of here themselves.

The window was gone but they could still access the computer system. Searching through the files, they pieced everything together slowly. A.L.I.E had been left alone for over a hundred years. She’d gathered a lot of data in that time, undisrupted, while they’d been in cryo.

She had the Eligius III mission files, which explained how she knew the five planets they’d visited and their planetary codes, as well as Earth's. That is how she had access to those six planets.

The Bardoans, as Cadogan believed, were actually a team from the Eligius III mission. A.L.I.E trapped them on the planet and forced them underground. They were there for a few years, building advanced technology. A.L.I.E used the Gem-9 bioweapon to wipe them out. Their underground bunker protected them. When they tried venturing outside, wearing thick robotic suits, it didn’t give them any protection. It crystallised them from the inside out. That’s why they looked like giants - it was their spacesuits.

Due its location and A.L.I.E’s interference, they could not contact anyone or leave the planet. Their ships stopped working and they couldn’t figure out how to access the Stone. By the time Bill Cadogan arrived, they were all gone.

The Bardoan texts were written by them in English. It more looked like a fictional fantasy story rather than a message. A.L.I.E ran the texts through a program, altering them to emulate an alien species and so it could be read differently by different people. She added Clarke’s name in, hoping she would get the message.

It was unclear whether there were any survivors from the teams sent to the other planets. From the look of things, it was unlikely. Except for Colin Benson, the sole survivor of the team sent to Beta.

A.L.I.E had influence over Earth too, making it appear as though it would never recover. She didn’t want humanity going back, because in her eyes, they were the problem and destroyed everything they came across. Earth actually had recovered. Radiation levels were safe. It was back. Monty wasn’t wrong, he’d seen what A.L.I.E wanted him to see.

And, Clarke realised, she needed them to go to Sanctum so they could travel via the Stones and arrive to this hyperdimension they were in currently. All of it, everything, had been orchestrated by _her._

They found a list of codes and their translations. Bellamy stopped at one.

“The power off code,” she said.

They watched their past selves in the cave. Bellamy was awake, staring right at them. At the light beings. Clarke was asleep, leaning on his shoulder. His arm was firmly around her. She remembered this moment.

“This is almost when we saw it,” he said.

Where they were was mirroring the cave. When they drew the code onto the black wall, it appeared as a projection in the Cave of Ascent.

Past Bellamy turned, looked at the code, and then shook Clarke awake. When she saw the projection, she ran out and then brought the others in to see it. They watched Bellamy write it down.

It was strange, seeing something they’d already experienced from a different perspective. After Jordan and the others had left the cave, it was the two of them. Clarke remembered how she’d leant against him and taken a nap.

And she was right, he had kissed the top of her head.

They sat, mirroring their past selves, just watching for a while. It was peaceful here. It was nice. A comforting warmth that was never ending.

Bellamy stiffened next to her and she lifted her head off his shoulder. “Hey, what’s up?”

He was silent, contemplating whether he wanted to voice his thoughts. “The code. The name.”

The name. The code that got them here. She hadn’t even considered it again. “Cassie B? Do you know who that is?”

“Not exactly.” He stood up and began pacing back and forth with his hands pressed to his head. “It makes no sense.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re in who-knows-where, looking at ourselves in the past and appearing as _light beings_ to them. None of this makes any sense, Bellamy. Whatever it is, it can’t be any crazier than this.”

“It’s stupid…” Nothing he said could be more ridiculous than what they’d just been through, so he took a deep breath. “If I were… to ever have a daughter, I’d name her Cassandra. After Cassandra of Troy from—“

“The Iliad,” she finished. She raised his eyebrows at him, meeting his eyes. Of course she knew who that was.

He sat back down and took her right hand in both of his. “Cassandra Blake.”

Clarke took in a short intake of breath. “Cassie B.”

The code was the name of Bellamy’s future daughter.

_Their_ daughter. Probably.

They don’t know how much time went by as they waited there, watching their past selves. Time didn’t seem real here, and she supposed it wasn’t if A.L.I.E was to be believed. Clarke didn’t want to leave. Neither did Bellamy. It was nice here just being together.

“Why here?” Clarke’s voice came out wearily. “A.L.I.E said this place manifests as somewhere special to us. Why not the Dropship, or somewhere else on Earth, or Sanctum? Why here? The place where you didn’t even remember me.”

Bellamy didn’t hesitate in answering. “We spent more time here with only each other than we ever did anywhere else. We had time to breathe and talk. We’d never had that before.”

He was right. The Cave of Ascent, despite Bellamy having lost his memory, is where they bonded more than they ever had before. They were still _them_ when they were there. Her head still fit perfectly into the crook of his neck. He still made her feel safe and warm. He still felt like the man she loved, even if he wasn’t all there.

Even without his memory, he was still Bellamy. No matter what, he would _always_ be her Bellamy. Who he was, what they were, ran much deeper than memory.

Her gaze travelled to the Stones. She knew what they had to do now. “We have to place them.”

They pulled up the planetary codes. Putting each particular code into the Stone sent it to a random, or not so random, location on that planet or moon. They alternated sending one off at a time, until one was left.

Earth.

They each took turns touching a symbol, pressing the final one together.

The Stones were where they were meant to be now. They’d done what they had to do.

Back at the cave, their past selves were no longer there. They stayed there for just for a bit longer. This stillness, this simple serenity, just the two of them with no responsibilities, would not last forever. It was a time when they could just be. They wanted to take as much of it as they could while they still had the chance.

After a while, Bellamy pulled her up and nudged her with his elbow. “So, what now Princess?”

That nickname… it had been a long time since he’d last called her that. Back then seemed like a different world. Which, in a way, it was.

Clarke interlaced her fingers with his and stood on her toes, kissing him gently.

“Now, let’s go home.”


	12. Chapter 12

Miller had made it clear he wasn’t a fan of this place. Or really any place they’d traveled. But he had to admit, this planet was better than the bunker. Only slightly.

“I’m just saying,” he said, laying down on the ground. Jackson’s fingers were running up and down his neck gently. “Wouldn’t it hurt to send us somewhere with a beach?”

Jackson laughed. “Sanctum had a beach and I don’t remember you eager to go swimming there.”

“Sanctum had cannibalistic bugs and plants!” He liked watching the way Jax’s eyelashes fluttered when he was listening to him speak. “Somewhere without that _and_ a beach.”

“Like Earth?” Jackson suggested.

That was exactly the place that came to mind when he thought of his ideal home. His eyes wandered to the kids. “As a kid I would have loved a beach, instead I was stuck in space. And when we came to the ground, I never even got a chance to go surfing.” He sighed, leaning back. “This place sucks. It’s Earth without everything that made Earth cool.”

“Like radiation?” Jackson leant up on his elbow, adjusting his legs into a comfortable position. “Nate, you saw Monty’s message. It’s not coming back.”

Jackson rubbed his hand into his upper back which helped him to relax. That did sadden him. Not that he missed the bunker, not in the slightest, but he did miss the greenery of Earth. The memories he had back there were unmatched to anywhere else they’d been.

They got the chance to relax for a moment before chaos met them. Madi came running over with a few kids trailing behind her.

“Dr Jackson!” she screamed. “Dr Jackson!!”

“Madi,” he said calmly. “What’s wrong?”

“I only ate a few, but Rex and see others ate more and I…” She stumbled on her words as her knees buckled. Miller helped keep her upright. She pressed her hand to her head. “I feel weird.”

Sure enough, a bunch of kids were out of their wits. Whatever they’d eaten, they were affecting Rex in particular the most. He was stomping on flowers, and bating his arms around at invisible enemies.

“Show me _exactly_ what they ate,” Jackson said to Madi.

They’d been told to not eat anything that had not been approved, but these kids were rebellious, especially the older ones. They’d found these lightly brown coloured tubes with seeds inside and decided it was a good idea to have a feast of them. They didn’t look familiar to either Miller or Jackson. They’d need to check with Jordan’s book when he got back.

Jackson was worried sick that what they’d eaten was poisonous. As Miller watched him scramble around, checking their pulses and dilated eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh. He knew these reactions they were having, he’d experienced them himself once upon a time.

Jackson wasn’t impressed. “This is not funny, Nate. If they’ve eaten something poisonous I need to figure out what and if there’s an antidote that can save them.”

“Jax,” he said as a laugh from deep in his belly escaped. “They’re not dying, they’re _high_.”

He would never forget back at the Dropship when he and a bunch of others had gotten high on hallucinogenic nuts. What a time that was.

They brought the affected kids to Jackson’s makeshift medical tent and would keep a close on eye on them until the effects wore off.

“Hey,” Niylah said, elbowing Miller as he watched from a sidelines as Jackson made the rounds checking on each of the kids. “You think we can make moonshine with those roots? Might make this place more bearable.”

He appreciated the sentiment, but in truth this place wasn’t _that_ bad. The only reason they’d consumed so much moonshine in the bunker was due to boredom. They had nothing else to do to pass the time. Here, watching these kids high as the sky, was as much entertainment as he needed.

“Don’t think we need it,” he said.

“True,” she said, taking a deep breath, “and at least there’s fresh air here.”

\- ∞ -

Chaos greeted the expedition team when they returned. Raven immediately went to find Murphy. He was wrangling a kid who was yelling at him, calling the little rascal a ‘monster’ which only elicited laughter from him.

“We’re gone for a couple of weeks and you let the kids get high on Etherean jobi nuts?” Raven smirked at him. What less would she expect from John Murphy? "Good job.”

The kid struggled in his arms. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically, “I try my best.” He put the kid down and held a tight grip on his upper arm. “Clarke’s decided to take the test after all.” It wasn’t a question.

She didn’t deny it. “Bellamy went with her.”

“Why does not that surprise me? Wherever the Princess goes, the King follows.” He smirked. “Well, I got a bunch of crazy kids high on roots and you lost our two leaders. Yeah, I think we’re gonna do just fine when Cadogan, and or Sheidheda, arrive.”

“Hey, Jordan’s EMP will make their suits and weapons useless. That gives us an advantage,” Raven said.

The kid started laughing again so he had to speak loudly. “And what is the plan exactly?”

“Same plan, nothing’s changed. We found the Stone, now we need to create a path up there. We’ll meet up later to discuss,” she gestured to the kid, “when you have this taken care of.”

Madi ran over, looking around frantically for Clarke. When she realised she wasn’t here, her face fell. She said to Jordan, “Clarke’s gone.”

“She’s taking the test,” Jordan confirmed. “You will see her again. I know you will. We all will.”

Raven placed a comforting hand on Madi’s slumping shoulder. Tears were skimming the surface of her eyes as she strolled off sadly.

Their plan wasn’t foolproof, not in the slightest. But it was the best they had.

“The storm has passed,” Raven said to the gathered people. “Jordan appears to think it’s over.”

“Yes,” Jordan reaffirmed. “The beings in the cave, they gave us a message. A task. They needed the passage to be clear for us to achieve this mission.”

Murphy rolled his neck around. It was stiff from wrangling the kids, no doubt. “Clarke went into the white orb? Or whatever?”

“As did Bellamy,” Jordan said. “I assume they’re taking the test as we speak. When they pass, we’ll transcend.”

Gabriel stood up. “We’re waiting for a signal from them. But if we don’t… we keep with the plan and all go to Skyring.”

“So we make a path up to the Stone. Will we be able get all the kids up?” Emori asked.

Raven noticed now her stomach was slightly bloated. She was beginning to show now.

“We’re woking on it,” Octavia said. “With the ropes, and coats which we won’t need now the storm has passed, I think we can make something sturdy enough. We'll pick into the rock to create footholds.”

“And if they arrive before then?” Echo asked.

She’d been eerily quiet, distracted with sharpening her arrows. Not that she usually had anything much to say. Raven was still pissed at what she’d done and maybe that prompted what she said next.

“We attack,” Raven said simply. "We have enough guns for all the adults. Do _not_ let the kids anywhere near them, understood?”

They all murmured in agreement. It was common sense really.

“We protect them at all costs,” Octavia said. “Our mission is to get them to the Stone and to safety. They are our main priority.”

\- ∞ -

They moved everyone up past the Wall of Unanswered Prayers. That was their first obstacle, hauling everyone up was an effort, but once they were over the first cliff all they had to worry about then was the mountain. They made camp at a few different smallish caves. A third of the kids in each, with a couple of adults keeping an eye on each group.

Murphy, along with Gabriel and Miller, worked on creating a path up mountain. They picked into the rock, creating deep, but not too deep, footholds. Close enough together for the kids short legs to get a grip on. Rope was placed on either side for more support. They tested multiple different versions, ensuring it could hold enough weight. It seemed sturdy enough.

They first got Madi and a few friends to test it. Three kids could be putting their weight onto the rope at once. Then they made it a point to practice climbing with each kid individually, so that when the time came, they’d all be prepared.

After an exhausting day, Murphy came back to the cave, to the little corner he shared with Emori. He placed his hands on her stomach, which had expanded a bit in past few weeks. She actually looked pregnant now and he couldn’t wait to meet the little one when he was born.

  
“Hmm,” Emori mumbled as he pressed feathery kisses down her neck. “Sleep, John. It’s time to sleep.”

She was right, with the kids snoring softly right next to them, it was not appropriate to fool around.

\- ∞ -

On the humid and foggy morning, the rocks were slightly slippery. Madi lost her footing, but Luca’s hand in hers held her upright.

“Guys!” Rex yelled. He was a few feet away with his eyes closed, as they’d instructed him. “Why do you get to always be the ones to hide?”

She giggled, continuing to drag her friend along. Hide and seek became their favourite game to play. Up here on the mountain, soccer wasn’t an option anymore. No flat grass to play on. There were only rocks.

Rex had spoken up about how he felt like a third wheel while with them. They were all friends. They’d become the best of friends in the short time they’d spent with each other. But she and Luca had become possibly something more. It was understandable Rex was feeling a little left out.

Madi kept running but Luca stopped. She knew why but she didn’t care. She wanted to keep going.

“We’re past the boundary,” he said. “Murphy said…”

“Blah blah,” she spat. “The boundary. What do they think is going to happen? There’s no one else here. We’re safe. Luca, c’mon.”

He reluctantly followed and they crouched below a low branch of a tree. Dew dripped down onto their heads.

“He’s not gonna find us here,” she whispered.

“That’s because we’re out of bounds,” he whispered back.

She laughed quietly, and in the faint sunrise she found herself staring at his lips. She’d thought about it, but she was always too nervous. What was there to lose now? They were both alone, and Rex wasn’t going to find them for a while. If ever, knowing how much of a rule follower he was.

She leaped forwards, her check banging into his chin, and she sloppily kissed him.

Luca was surprised, but he tried as he might to kiss her back.

She pulled back, biting her bottom lip sheepishly.

“Umm… so,” Luca said, scratching his head. “Does this mean… you’re my girlfriend?”

Madi shrugged, her cheeks reddening at the thought. “I guess.”

He smiled and she leaned back in for another kiss. Madi still wasn’t sure if this was right but she wanted to try again. It was better this time, not as sloppy. Their giggles echoed through the nearby rock crevice.

Luca dragged her up and took them even further past the boundary. So now he wanted to break the rules?

They laughed and laughed, kissing awkwardly until a sound out of the ordinary happened in the distance. They were so caught up in each other they almost didn’t even notice.

They saw the green cloud before they heard it. Down below the mountain, where their first camp had been, a large army of people in black armour had arrived. Madi jerked Luca down below a bush and tried to get a look at them.

She knew what this meant.

The war was here.

\- ∞ -

The light beings hadn’t been there in days, yet Jordan still spent his time in the Cave of Ascent, waiting for a sign.

He slept there, ate there, and spent all his free time there. Hope came to visit him regularly and they talked and just held each other.

“I never saw him,” Jordan said out of the blue, waking a tired Hope from her nap. “Orlando. I never saw him on Bardo.”

Now she was awake. “What do you think they did to him?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. He wasn’t sure, he though for sure he’d be welcomed back into the ranks. Why wasn’t he seen again?

“He committed treason. Sent back to Penance to die?” she suggested.

That thought made him feel ill. It was their doing, coercing him to their side, and he had probably paid the ultimate price. He liked to think their friend was still out there somewhere, but he had a feeling he wasn’t.

Jordan was tired, almost drifting off, and wasn’t sure if he was dreaming. He’d been staring at the blank wall for so long and was probably imagining things, but he swore the light beings came back.

He rubbed his eyes, accidentally stirring Hope who groaned tiredly.

He was sure now. He hadn’t imagined them. They were here.

This time there were three of them. One was smaller.

“Three,” Hope said from behind him, then shielded her eyes as the room became impossibly bright and almost blinded them. She tugged on Jordan’s jacket and he turned.

There were two codes projected onto the wall. One of them he recognised from before.

“I’ll get Gabriel and Raven,” Hope said, rushing out of the cave.

Jordan stumbled to find something to write with. All he had the Shepherd’s book, and an almost empty pen. He hesitated, this book had been his lifeline, his salvation for the past few months, did he want soil it?

Screw it. This was more important. They were on the brink of transcendence. He knew it to be true.

“Got it?” Gabriel asked him, breathless form running. He nodded and he ripped the page from the book and handed it to him.

“The second one is the same,” Jordan said. “The power off one. The first…”

“Earth,” Raven came into the cave, a Disciple helmet on her head distorting her voice, and nodded at the wall. “It’s online. Same code.”

This was the message. This is what they’d been waiting for.

Gabriel spoke fast. He was excited about this. “It’s time. This is what Clarke meant. We send everyone through to Earth and then shut the Stone down. That the message you’re getting?” He directed it at Jordan.

That… wasn’t what Jordan had envisioned in the slightest. Transcendence? No… he believed they’d transcend to a higher state of being… not go back to the dead place of their creation. Could he have been wrong? Now he was doubting himself, but there was no time to waste now, because Murphy came running in with Madi close on his tail.

“They’re here,” is all he said.

It was time to move.

“We’ve got the codes,” Gabriel told him. “Get the kids ready.”

“On it,” Murphy said, rushing out of the room.

Madi stayed put, mesmerised by the light beings. Her eyes were transfixed on them.

“Madi, we’ve gotta go,” Jordan said, trying to usher her out of the room.

She walked forward, held her hand out to the beings, specifically to the smaller one, and her eyes watered. “Clarke,” she breathed.

Jordan watched in awe. Could it be true? Had Clarke transcended? Was that why this place felt safe and familiar?

And then the beings were gone and Madi was left in a heaping mess of tears.

\- ∞ -

Murphy threw guns to the fighters. “Indra, Octavia… you stand guard up front with me. Niylah, Miller, Echo, you’re our back up. Got it?”

They nodded and he went back to the kids, who were still a scraggly mess but in some kind of wonky line. He walked along, shouting at them to stay still, and counted.

And counted again. And again. Until he was sure they were all there.

All one hundred of them.

Gabriel and Raven were already halfway up the peak to the Stone. They were waiting for them to get there, to activate it, and then they were on a mission to send the kids up a few at a time. He made his way to the front of the line.

“Madi,” he said, crouching down so he was eye level with her. Picasso was bundled up in her arms. “I need you to be a role model for the others. Lead the way. Think you can do that?” He winked at her. He knew how strong she was. He knew she could.

Wordlessly, she hugged him, nodding her head into his chest.

Gaia was next to her, shadowing her closely. They began marching up. Gaia was at the lead, followed by Madi and the dog.

Murphy made his way over to Emori, who had a few kids latched tightly to her legs.

She noted his rifle and narrowed her eyes.

“Front line,” he said, revealing her fears.

“John…” she argued. He hadn’t told her yet. She knew what her reaction would be.

“Hey, hey, my number one priority is making sure you,” he pointed to her belly, ticking her belly button, “ _both_ of you, and all the kids, get up to the Stone safely.”

“John…” She pulled him in for a kiss. “Survive. For me.” Looking down she said, “For us.”

He kissed her deeply, ignoring the kids making inappropriate gross sounds at their display of affection.

“Hey. I’ll love you forever, even if I die today,” he said, calling back to something she said to her once what seemed like a lifetime ago, but was merely weeks ago. “Not that I’m planning to, but no matter what happens, you go, okay?”

She wasn’t happy about it, but she let him go. And then she saw Echo.

“Not her too. Echo!” she called.

She came over with her bow strung over one shoulder, and a handgun connected to her belt. “I guess this is it.”

“You don’t have to punish yourself,” she stopped… and instead called her by another name. One Murphy didn’t even know she had. “Ash. Come with us.”

“No,” she said sternly. “I’m not punishing myself. These kids… they’re worth fighting for. They deserve a chance at a life better than what we had.”

Murphy gave Emori a look telling her to hurry up. She hugged Echo and then pushed the kids with her up to the line.

This was their choice and Emori was going to have to accept that. He stood next to Indra who nodded at him.

Up ahead, still a few minutes away, they could see Cadogan’s army getting closer. He glanced behind, Madi was halfway up the peak, another kid was falling quite far behind. _Faster,_ he cursed under his breath. But he knew they were going as fast as she could. If it took that long for her, one of the best climbers, it’d take a lot longer for the weaker ones to get up.

But without their enemies automatic power weapons, thanks to Jordan and Raven’s mechanism, maybe, just maybe, they could hold them off.

It was a waiting game now, Murphy hoping against hope the kids remembered their training and could even get up all the way. When he glanced behind him next, a bunch of kids, maybe fifteen or so, had made it. They were getting there, slowly.

But so were their enemy.

Half the kids were up when the army made it up the first cliff of the mountain. The man in the white robe, the Shepherd, or known as Bill Cadogan, joined them. He stood out in the sea of black.

“Octavia,” he said in a loud beaming voice. “Very nice to see you again.”

“Took you long enough,” she mumbled, holding her sword in an attack position.

“I apologise,” he said. “I was stuck on the moon for a lot longer than I anticipated and that put a bit of a damper in my plans. And of course we then had train for the war. To actually fight this time. The final war, it’s here isn’t it? Clarke put in the code.”

“You’re too late,” Murphy spat. “It’s not a war, it’s a _test_ , and she’s taking it as we speak.”

Cadogan appeared to know exactly who he was. “Ah, John Murphy, I know bits and pieces about you.”

“Hmm,” he grumbled. “We don’t want to fight.”

He glanced behind, saw the kids and how they were getting up the mountain. “Good idea, building footholds into the rocks,” he said. “But we can’t let you do this. We know you have the kill code for the Stones. If you shut them down, we don’t transcend.”

“Transcendence is _bullshit_ ,” Murphy said.

“You’ve been into the Cave of Ascent, correct? I assume so since it appears you’ve set up camp there. You saw the beings, didn’t you? Then how can you deny a truth you’ve seen with your own eyes?”

“It proves nothing,” Octavia said.

He met her eyes now. She’d painted war paint on her face with charcoal. “I need Madi, Clarke’s daughter. She has knowledge I would like to acquire.”

Murphy was unable to see Madi on the peak any longer. The green swirling bridge was open, she was probably already through. “You’re too late I’m afraid. May as well give up now.”

He didn’t respond, only signalled his army to stand in formation.

“Your weapons are down,” Octavia said to the enemies army. “We don’t want to fight but we will if we have to. I know you’re afraid to walk away from everything you’ve spent your lives training for. I don’t know what I believe but I know that if we fight this war, we don’t deserve to survive. Enough fighting. Enough violence,. Enough war. It never brings peace.”

Cadogan watched on. The man was amused by her speech.

“I’ve been to war and let me tell you, the only way to win is _not_ to fight,” Octavia finished.

A Disciple pushed to the front of the army and took their helmet off. He directed his gaze at Octavia.

She squinted. “Levitt?”

“Octavia, I’m sorry. You were right, this isn’t living.” He unsheathed a knife from his undergarments and launched at Cadogan.

_BOOM._

The shot rang in Murphy ears. Levitt was pushed back, a red stain spreading face through his black suit. Cadogan had a gun in his hand. It was an ordinary gun, one not using power so it still worked.

“I did not foresee you disrupting the energy field, but lucky I brought backup.” He put a hand up to his army. “Attack on my command.”

It seemed only he had a working gun. The rest had knives, daggers or swords, now that their ray guns were useless.

Octavia ran for Levitt, screaming his name. He fell to the ground.

“So weak, you people,” Cadogan hissed, and Octavia turned on him with a darkness in her eyes. “Love only brings pain and suffering and death. We can be more. We _will_ be more when we transcend. I am not your enemy.”

Only then did he realise there was a knife sticking out of his chest. He pulled it out and blood splashed onto Octavia’s back. The knife Levitt was holding… he must have thrown it before Cadogan had fired the shot.

Cadogan fell, belatedly, and convulsed on the ground. None of his Disciples ran to him. They were too shocked by these events.

“I’m sorry,” Levitt said. Octavia was cradling his body. “I’m sorry Octavia. You were right. The things we’ve done… There is more to life… than that. You showed me…”

“Hey, hey,” she said, tears staining her eyes. “You’ll be okay.”

But it was clear he wouldn’t. She held him close as his eyes closed and breathing stopped.

“You gonplei set odon,” she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the top of his head.

“We do the Shepherd’s bidding!” a Disciple yelled as he advanced.

The rest of the army followed.

\- ∞ -

Wearing the helmet, Raven put the code into the Stone. She and Gabriel watched in awe as Anomaly cloud opened up. It sat right on the cliff edge, you’d have to make a small jump to make it. These kids would need to be brave.

Down below on the mountain, the kids were bunched up in an uneven line, climbing up the peak one by one. The dog arrived first, closely followed by Madi and a few of her friends.

The girl stood at the edge, stumbling slightly, as she looked down into the swirling cloud. “Is it safe?” she asked Gabriel.

“I believe it is,” he replied. “It’s safer than here.”

Her body started trembling, and Raven pulled her helmet off and rushed to comfort her. She turned to Gabriel. “Think you can handle this yourself?”

He nodded. One last time. It would be his responsibility to keep it open until they all made it through. He could do it.

“I’ll go through first then, greet everyone on the other side,” she said, putting the helmet back on and nodding at Madi. “Follow my lead, got it?”

She only had to jumped maybe a foot before she was sucked into the bridge.

Madi stood up tall, putting on a brave face. She hauled Picasso up into her arms and gave a little run up and then jumped, disappearing into the cloud.

More kids arrived up the top of the peak, watching the kids in front of them, mentally preparing for what they needed to do. Rex and Luca held hands as they jumped through together. The kids behind did the same - finding a partner so they wouldn’t have to jump alone. Some kids were hesitant, but watching the kids of front of them, and Gabriel’s kind encouragement, helped a lot. Most of them went through without a hitch.

The struggle was keeping the bridge open for this long. Gabriel stole a glance down below. There were still dozens of them down on the lower ledge waiting to climb up. He could already feel his muscles straining to keep his hands on the Stone and ensure it stayed open.

But he’d made a promise. He wasn’t going to give in until they were all safe.

\- ∞ -

Octavia stayed with Levitt until the Disciples started advancing on them again. The body of Cadogan was lying flat with blood pooling out of him.

This man who had inflicted so much pain on her and her friends. Who believed himself to be the saviour of the human race. He was but a man, killed by a simple knife.

She grabbed Cadogan's gun and threw it over the edge of the mountain, using her anger at what it had done to her friend to fuel her strength. She stood up, placing herself next to Indra. She put one leg in front of the other and held her two swords in a defensive position.

Without their automatic weapons, it was not exactly a fair fight. The Disciples used their guns as shields, but Octavia’s swords cut right through them. They massacred them left right and centre. They tried as they might to only wound, or knock out, not kill.

“Nate!” a voice from behind yelled.

Octavia turned, seeing two tired kids in Jackson’s arms. He needed help to get them up.

“Go!” Murphy ordered Miller. “Go, we can hold them off.”

Miller hesitated. He was a warrior. He was a capable fighter and loyal friend to Octavia, or he had been down in the bunker. He would be a great help holding back the Disciples. She didn’t speak up, Murphy was right to tell him to go.

Now it was five of them against the army.

The Disciples were unprepared for their weapons being unusable. Niylah, getting good us out of the rifle. Echo, making great hits with her bow and arrow. Indra, right next to her also with two swords, fighting in tandem. And Murphy, with no particular fighting skills, just pure instinct and his bare hands. It wasn’t hard to knock them down, but their enemy had the numbers.

“Aunty O!” Hope shouted.

She glanced behind, The last of the kids were climbing up the peak, and Hope and Jordan were at the bottom. Jordan was trying to hold her back.

“Hope, go!!” Octavia shouted, and turned back to the fight.

She ignored her pleads and kept focussing on fighting. They were the distraction, they were the wall they could not let be broken. She kept fighting, getting into a rhythm where everything else melted away.

“Octavia!” Murphy shouted. She strained her her eyes to see him twisting his arm and kicking a Disciple in the abdomen. He shook his head in a direction. “In the trees!”

She followed his gaze, but couldn’t see anything through the fighting. She sliced her way over, kicking Disciples out of her way.

She saw the movement in the trees, trying focusing her blurry eyes. It wasn’t clear at first, but then she realised what Murphy had seen.

A kid. They’d missed one.

“You take him,” Murphy said.

She saw a Disciple descend on her and without even hesitation, knocked them down. “No, you go!”

“No!” he said. She knew from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t going to back down until they were all safe. He was going to stay here until he was absolutely sure no one was going to follow. Until all the Disciples were down and there was no danger of anyone else following. She knew that look. That fire in his eyes to protect his loved ones. To protect his child.

He knocked down another Disciple, who Octavia hadn’t been noticed was advancing on her. He met her eyes with that fury. “Go, now!”

Octavia rushed to the child. Murphy, Indra and Niylah created a barrier as she picked the young boy up. She ran to the peak without even a backwards glance.

As soon as Hope saw her running, she and Jordan began to climb. The little boy, no more than five years old he could have been, was crying hysterically in her arms. She hummed, trying to calm him down, as she climbed.

She was breathless when she made it up.

“Go,” she said to Hope, who was hesitating at the edge of the cliff. “I’m right behind you.”

Jordan took her hand and they jumped through. The boy latched to her was quietly sobbing now. She turned back, watching them down below fighting off the Disciples. The four of them were doing an incredible job of holding the army back.

Indra, her trainer. The person who took her on as her second. Who took her in when no one else would.

Niylah, her loyal companion for all those years in the bunker.

Echo, someone her brother loved. Someone she grew to understand and care for.

And Murphy, who she never knew very well, but she was heartened by the man he’d become. He was willing to give up the chance to know his own son for her, and for this little boy who was almost left behind.

She would weep for them later. For everything they had given them. For all they had sacrificed.

“Is that everyone?” Gabriel asked. His face was bright red and the veins in his neck were popping out as he struggled keep his hands on the Stone.

She nodded, glancing behind one last time. “That’s everyone. Shut it down.”

“Good luck,” he said.

“You too.”

She adjusted her grip on the boy and jumped into the green cloud.

\- ∞ -

As soon as Octavia had jumped through, Gabriel let go of the Stone, falling to his knees in a mess of heaving breaths. It had been exhausting keeping it open for that long. It must have taken at least an hour to get them all through.

But they’d made it.

Four figures were down below, defending themselves against the army. They were willing to make that sacrifice. As was he.

He smoothed out the scrap paper where Jordan had written the power off code. These Stones, he’d spent so long studying them, longing to understand their true potential. Hundreds of years of research and he’d gotten nowhere. Until he, Jordan and Hope had ventured through the Anomaly.

The mystery had unravelled and it had been a thrilling ride. He’d learnt all they were, and all that they could do. His study was now complete.

What he’d learnt is they weren’t all they were cracked up to be. The way the Disciples had manipulated them and turned them into a form of evil, just as he had done with the mind drives. He’d pulled himself out of that, out of the godlike personas of the Primes. He’d separated himself from that life, just as he was going to do now with the Stones.

He was going to be the one to destroy them.

He tapped each of the seven symbols and stood back as far as he could on the narrow landing. He found himself against the wall, resting his fingers on the ‘C.B’ engraving.

The Stone transformed into a crackling red orb. It looked like it was throbbing with pain. It let out an uncomfortable screeching sound.

The Stone imploded in on itself, throwing him back into the wall. The sky turned a strange shade of reddish orange.

That was the last thing Gabriel saw.


	13. Chapter 13

The ground began shaking as a giant explosion occurred on the mountain peak. Red flares lit up the darkened sky like fireworks.

Murphy watched in awe, and also dread. Gabriel had done it. The Stone had been destroyed. It rained down in golden strands over them. However, that meant was there was no way off this planet now.

The Disciples had stopped fighting to watch, but as soon as the flares fell and the sky faded back into blue, they advanced again.

Murphy huffed. What were they even fighting for now? It was over. The war, as Cadogan and his followers believed, was done.

“Hey!” When they didn’t listen, Murphy raised his voice, “HEY!!”

They fell into silence. Only a handful were still alive and wanting to fight. They’d cut most of them down. He tried to wound, not kill, but sometimes he’d had no choice. It was self defence, he’d kept telling himself.

“Your Shepherd is dead!” he shouted. “The Stone has been destroyed. There is no way out of there. We’re stuck here together whether you like it or not. Take off your helmets. Surrender. We can figure something out.”

Some moved to attack, and Indra knocked them down. She then stuck her two swords upright in the ground.

Echo went next, dropping her arrows which clanged on the rock, and threw her bow a few feet away. Niylah dropped her rifle, handgun and armour over her shoulder. Murphy didn’t have any weapons, he’d lost them in the battle and used his hands which here bruised and battered. The four of them stood and waited for what their enemy were going to do next.

With no reason to be fighting anymore, most of the Disciples took their helmets off. With a swish and click, they dropped them to the ground. The ones that didn’t hesitated for a moment, and then did the same. Mumbles of ‘for all mankind’ as each of them surrendered.

Relief washed over Murphy and he found himself laughing. That surprisingly went better than he’d hoped. The kids were safe and he was still alive. He was preparing for one of those to not to be true at the end of it.

Up on the mountain peak, they found Gabriel’s broken body. His lifeless face was in the faintest of smiles. It would have been a quick death. A sacrifice that will be remembered. Niylah closed his eyes and covered his body with coats.

The Stone was not there anymore. It had been obliterated into dust, as though it had never been a magical levitating entity.

“What now?” Echo asked Murphy.

The three of them looked to him as their leader, even though he didn’t feel like one.

In truth, he didn’t know. When they were up against the army, a part of him thought he wasn’t going to make it. He’d made peace with that. He’d accepted that as his fate and was content with going out that way. His loved ones were safe and that was all that mattered to him anymore.

But he was still here and kicking it, so he’d do what he always did. “We survive,” he answered. Keep surviving against impossible odds. That's what he was good at.

Indra wasn’t too bad, though the others weren’t exactly his idea of good company. But who knows? Perhaps he’d make some new friends with the people who an hour ago were trying to murder him to get to a floating Stone.

Besides, there was one other thing that gave him some sense of hope. With the time dilation here, maybe one day their friends would find a spaceship, charter a course for this planet and come rescue them.

He would wait for that day gladly, even if it never came.

\- ∞ -

Malachi had quickly figured out Cadogan lied and sent them somewhere else. They’d passed many dead bodies in the snow in this strange land. It took them almost a day to get to the cave.

It was warmer inside here, slightly uncomfortably warm, a vivid contrast from the freezing outdoors.

Knight led the way in the darkness. This place smelt like sewage. Worse than anything he’d ever encountered before. It was hard to see with only one eye. Unfortunately he’d been left with this body's bad eye. Maybe mutilating his own face wasn’t the smartest idea, but he’d missed his original body, and the person he used to be, so he’d sliced into his face and scoped his eyeball out so he could wear his eye patch. It was worth it. His followers recognised him and knelt to Malachi kom Sangedakru.

This cave was strange. Already some of his followers had gotten lost like little lost lambs. The walls made unusual sounds and started moving in and a bile-like smell overpowered all other senses. There were also the spider like creatures that had attacked and left him with open cuts.

Knight yelled in the distance, his voice echoing through the dampened walls, “Heda, I found it.”

Malachi smiled his signature devilish smile and pushed through, finding the Stone that appeared to glow in the invisible light.

It was a structure similar to the Stone back on Sanctum. Exactly like the ones he’d seen in his memories. Stones that allowed them to travel.

Now, how to power it up and get back to Sanctum? None of them had any clue.

And they would never figure it out because the Stone began pulsing a bright red light.

“What did you do?” he shouted at Knight, who had a hand held out towards the Stone.

Malachi stepped past him and reached out to the red light. In the flash of an instance, his body was dotted with second degree burns. His scream was lost in the static.

The red Stone pulsed for a few moments and then exploded. It caused a wave of destruction, obliterating the entire cave organism and everyone inside.

No one survived.

\- ∞ -

A few unfortunate people were in the Stone room on Bardo when the explosion happened. The walls were strong and it was contained to the one room. The rest of the underground facility was still standing.

Without a war to prepare for and people telling them what to do, the Disciples way of life was transformed. They formed connections, fell in love, and procreated the natural way. The Embryo lab was no longer used.

Some believed this was the transcendence they’d spent their whole lives preparing for. Some still worshipped the Shepherd and believed he was watching over them. Others realised the truth, that they’d been brainwashed and were simply being used as pawns in a war and were now free.

The society on Bardo lived on.

\- ∞ -

The reactor was warm, at least there was that. Though it was stuffy, and Jeremiah longed for some fresh air, he was willing to stay here for as long as it took.

The food lasted long enough through strict rationing. There had been enough for all the hungry kids, and with them gone, the handful of adults managed to survive for weeks on what they had.

Their time was spent talking, reading books, playing cards and chess. Jeremiah found himself praying most of the time. For his son. For his people. Praying that Daniel Prime would keep his promise and take them home.

A loud bang startled them. They all stopped what they were doing and went dead silent. It had been days since the guards had stopped guarding the reactor, but they stayed locked inside out of precaution.

“Open up!” a female voice yelled.

Jeremiah stood up. Nelson pushed him out of the way and pointed to the CCTV screen.

“It’s the prisoners,” Nelson said, making his way towards the door. He had his hand on the keypad.

Jeremiah didn’t want to risk it. “Don’t open it.”

“Do you really wanna spend the rest of your life in here?” Nelson asked.

He’d learnt a lot in the weeks he’d spent with these people. Nelson was not so different from him. He had a family, just as he did. He loved, just like he did. After being raised to treat the Children of Gabriel differently, it was a surprise to him. Why were they kept separate then? Why were they taught to fear them and treat them as the enemy?

But this is one area where they differed. Yes, Jeremiah would spend the rest of life in here if it meant he could stay alive. “They have guns,” is all he said.

“See for yourself,” Nelson stepped away from the screen so he could see, "they’re unarmed.”

That wasn’t good enough. “But they own guns. They could use them on us.”

Nelson ignored him. The Children of Gabriel, he could see why the people of Sanctum never associated with them. They had very different ideologies. But they weren’t _demons_ as his faith had taught.

Nelson unlocked the door, much to Jeremiah’s disdain. A woman, the leader of the prisoners, greeted them. Half of her hair was braided, and the other half of her blonde hair hung down in waves over her face.

“Nelson,” she said, cocking her head as she took him in, “so we meet again.” She craned her neck around and winked at the rest of the frightened people. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

Nelson crossed his arms. “Nikki, what do you want?”

“I came to call a truce. They’re gone, that commander dude and the cult leader.” She settled her hands on her hips. “They’re not coming back.”

Jeremiah could smell something and pushed his way out the door with no concern for the possibility they might have guns. That didn’t matter now, not if what he was thinking had come true. His eyes were not used to the brightness of the outdoors and he squinted.

There was smoke billowing up from far in the woods. Red sparks were raining down like flames.

He fell to his knees and put his hands up in prayer. “Thank the Primes.”

It was an image from the book. The book that told them what would happen one day. Daniel had kept his promise. His son was home.

He had been right to have faith in him.

“See,” Nikki said annoyedly. “They’re gone. Not coming back.”

“What’s your truce?” Nelson asked.

Another man spoke up, whose arm came to link with Nikki’s. “We don’t want to fight, we can coexist in this place. We’re working on building our own compound.”

Nikki continued, “What Hatch said. Though, until it’s built, the farmhouse and palace are ours. You,” she gestured to Nelson and Jeremiah, who she’d obviously dubbed the leaders of their respective people. “You can go anywhere else you want.”

“We don’t want no war,” Hatch said. “We want a peaceful life, same as you.”

Nikki held out her hand to Nelson. “Deal?”

He shook it without any hesitations.

Jeremiah wasn’t so quick to agree. But in the end, he decided it was the best choice. His son was safe. All the kids were. And he wished for peace too. He wished for things to go back to the way they were before the people arrived from the stars and caused chaos.

So he shook Nikki’s hand, allowing her a crooked smile.

“All right!” Hatch said, clapping his hands together. He put an arm around Nelson. “How long were you guys in there? You must be starving.” He turned, pointing at each one of them who had emerged from the reactor. “You’re all invited to the farmhouse for lunch.”

Nikki gave him a warning look.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, honey bunny, it’s not like we’re criminals.”

“Actually—” she began.

He jabbed her side. “No mind to that. This is a fresh start for us all.”


	14. Chapter 14

Octavia held on tight to the little boy as she landed with a thump on the hard concrete floor. She ensured the boy was above so she caught most of the brunt and cushioned his fall. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, but as soon as it was in focus her breath caught.

She knew this place. There was still the dried blood stuck to the floor. Strands of light shone through the hole in the ceiling that Bellamy had descended from when he’d arrived to rescue them. Craning her neck up, she could see the hole was now covered by overgrown vines.

She was back in the place where she’d been trapped for six years. The place where she almost lost herself.

Of all the places on Earth, of course it had to drop them here just to punish her even more. She’d never wanted to come back here. She thought it was all behind her.

“Octavia?” Gaia’s voice was familiar. That woke her back up to reality.

The boy she was holding too tight was gently taken from her arms. She let him go, now feeling empty.

Gaia’s cold hand rested on her face and she opened her eyes, seeing her friend smiling back at her. “You made it. He’s lucky number one hundred. All the kids made it.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “All of them?”

“Yes. They all made it in one piece.” She glanced behind Octavia waiting for someone else to emerge from the green cloud. But then it dissipated. “My mother?”

The look on Octavia’s face said it all. “She was alive when I left.”

Wordlessly, Gaia carried the boy over to Jackson to get checked out. Now that Octavia was awake and aware, she saw the arena was crowded. The kids were spread out along the ramp, and the far edge of the arena had been made into a makeshift hospital. There was quiet chatter and the adults were making the rounds treating the injured kids.

“We all made it,” she breathed. Well, not everyone. But most of them had.

“Some of us have been here for over a week,” Gaia said, gesturing to the door that led to the ladder. “Madi is desperate to go find Clarke, but we agreed we’d wait until everyone was here.”

There were a few vines hanging down in strings from the high roof. “Has anyone been up?” she said quietly to Gaia. “Is Earth back? Has it healed?”

She shook her head. “No one’s been out. We don’t know what’s out there. We worry that we may let something in… Now that you’re here…”

“We’ll figure out a plan,” Octavia said, pulling Gaia into a hug. “Thank you.”

Octavia found Emori sitting at the bottom of the ramp. She had a hand on her belly and was staring at the place where the swirling cloud was a moment ago.

“If it wasn’t for Murphy I never would have made it with the last child,” Octavia said to her. “He wouldn’t let up until he knew they wouldn’t follow. He wanted to make sure we were all safe. They were all still alive - Echo, Indra and Niylah too - when I left.”

Emori was saddened, but she was trying to stay strong. “He’s a survivor.”

A loud explosion came from deep in the bunker, pushing the door off its hinges. Sparks flew through and rocks fell consistently for a couple of seconds. They knew what it meant. The Stone was gone. No one else would be coming through.

A sharp pain snaked it way up Octavia’s leg and she collapsed to the ground. In an instant Miller was on her her. He ripped her pants to expose a bloody wound on the lower calf of her left leg. Jackson wiped antiseptic over and examined the wound.

“Looks like a shard of a bullet,” he said, directing his flashlight onto the wound, “or from a casing. I’ll remove it and you’ll be good to go.”

She hadn’t even realised she’d been hit. When she was down with Levitt, things were happening around her but she’d hadn’t paid any attention to anything but him. It must have happened then. It was painful, but not the worst thing she’d ever experienced. The bandage around her leg helped relieve the pressure, but it still hurt to walk.

As she was lying down and trying to rest, Hope found her. Her face was tearstained. “I thought— I thought you wouldn’t make it…”

“Shhh,” she whispered into her ear. “Hope, I’m here. I’m right here.”

Madi came over to give her a hug. “When you’re feeling better, we’ll go find Clarke and Bellamy.”

She admired the girls optimism, but something told her they were not going to find what she was hoping.

When her strength was somewhat replenished, Octavia took Miller and Jordan through to the deeper part of the bunker. There was rubble all around, and most had to be moved before they could get into the rec room.

This was clearly where the Stone had been. There was a fine layer of golden ashes covering the floor and a round hole in the ground. It must have been buried here under the concrete and they had no idea for all those years they’d lived here.

Next to the rubble her eyes were drawn to an engraving. C.B. Just like on Sanctum, Skyring and Etherea.

“Have a look at this,” Miller said. He was holding a bit of paper and had an unreadable look on his face.

Octavia looked over his shoulder. It was a map of locations that were familiar to the both of them. There was messy writing all over it, with words like ‘school’ and ‘medical centre’. A bright red X stood out. It marked somewhere from their past.

Octavia’s throat was dry. She knew they had to go there but she was afraid of what they’d find.

When Hope saw the map, her eyes watered. The handwriting was her mothers. She was going to come, as well as Raven, Jordan and of course Madi who was desperate to get out of the bunker.

——

Madi took the lead, with Picasso following her closely next to her. That dog didn’t go anywhere without her. Miller stayed a few steps behind her, on guard in case anything happened. Raven was leaning on Jordan for support and Hope was walking with Octavia, helping her along as she limped.

It felt good to be out in the fresh air. For some of them they’d been cooped up for a week. For Octavia, it had only been a few hours. She honestly didn’t know how she’d coped being stuck down there for six whole years.

Earth was green. No longer was it a barren landscape. Somehow, it was even brighter and more vibrant than it ever was before. This journey was fascinating, most of all for Jordan who had never set foot on Earth before and only heard stories about it. He stopped at every tree, planting a green handprint from the damp moss so they would be able to find their way back.

Hope had never been here either. The place where her mother had grown up. She held onto the map, she wanted to keep it. Octavia knew the way to where they were going anyway.

The clearing was just around the corner and Octavia stopped short. Hope took her hand for support. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for what were they going to find. Would they be here?

They were at the location where the Dropship used to be. It had been destroyed during the death wave, and probably obliterated after the bombs dropped on Eden. It wasn’t empty anymore. Now, a little cottage stood in its place. It had been crafted from repurposed metal and wood. Overgrown gardens surrounded it, which they had to slash through to get to the door.

The Hercules roses caught Hope’s attention and she picked one and put it behind her ear, as she used to do back on Skyring. There were lots of colourful flowers and tall plants. Octavia had never seen anywhere on Earth so alive before.

Madi ran ahead and called out, “Clarke? Bellamy?”

She knocked on the door but there was no response. She tried the handle and the door opened with a rusty squeak. She was the first to step foot inside, taking small steps as the floor creaked below her.

Octavia waited for everyone else to go in, and then hesitated at the doorway. She was worried about what she’d be met with inside.

She stepped in and a familiar scent wafted into her nose. Her brother had been here. There was dust covering everything. No one had been here for a long time.

The living room walls were covered in drawings. Drawings of everything and everyone. All of them, the hundred, landing on the ground. All the people they’d lost, and people they’d met along the way. They told the story of their journey. Octavia’s eyes landed on a drawing of herself taking the first step onto Earth.

There were many drawings of people they didn’t recognise, and places they didn’t know. Some of Clarke and Bellamy, older than when they’d last seen them. And countless drawings of a girl who had Bellamy’s nose and freckles.

Madi walked around the perimeter of the room, taking in every single one of the drawings. She turned to Octavia and frowned. “They’re not here, are they?”

Octavia shook her head, moving to the small kitchen that looked homely. A small bedroom was on the far end of the cottage, with a double bed and hand furnished dresser.

It was clear. This had been Bellamy and Clarke’s home.

On the small dresser against the wall, Octavia noticed Clarke’s backpack, and her fathers watch sitting next to it. In the middle sat a letter. Raven blew on the settled dust and it wafted off. Nothing was written on it, but they knew it was meant for them.

“Hey,” Raven said, and the others joined them in the bedroom.

Octavia choked on a sob as Raven opened the letter and smoothed it out. She took a quick look and then handed it to Octavia to read.

She skimmed it quickly and could see why Raven entrusted her with it. Though her emotions were threatening to overcome her, she cleared her throat and began.

“I’m not sure how to start this. I don’t know how to tell you what happened when we put in the code. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Long story short, we ended up back on Earth.”

“Clarke,” Madi whispered. It was her writing. It was her voice speaking to them.

Octavia continued, “When we first arrived it was still bare, but the air was breathable even without nightblood. It took a few years for it to grow back, but it eventually did. As you can see now, it grew and grew, almost too fast for us to know what to do with. We built this little cottage ourselves using rubble form the Dropship and materials from the bunker. It was a real work in progress for those first few years.”

Octavia took a breath before continuing, "It was only the two of us at first, but then others came. We were wary of these people and had weapons at the ready. However we decided not to attack first, and neither did they. Over the years we met more people with stories just as crazy as ours.

“Together, we rebuilt society from the ground up using the plans that Kane and Diyoza left behind. The medical centre was my pride and joy. It was a place I know my mother would have thrived in. We built a school, playgrounds, and many open spaces for the kids to play in to name a few. I hope it’s what they envisioned. I wish they could have seen it.

“It was just us here in the cottage for a while, but as the years went by we had a daughter. Life was good. We were happy. Cassie made friends and grew up so fast before our eyes. Bellamy loved everything about being a father. I wish you could have seen him. He really found his place here. Believe it or not, he was mayor of the village and loved every second of it.”

The next paragraph made Octavia’s eyes water and she struggled to see through the tears, but she continued on, “Octavia, I want you to know how much Bellamy loved you, though I know you already know that. Seeing him here in his element is something I wish you could have witnessed. He told me, when he was still here, that he wanted you to know that even though you were not his responsibility anymore, you would always be that little girl under the floor who had such a positive outlook on life. We found something that he wanted you to have. A small parting gift to say thank you and farewell. You’ll find it in my backpack.”

She unzipped the backpack and reached her hands in. She pulled the familiar item out. Lincoln’s foghorn. She ran her finger ran over, disrupting the dust. She’d never realised before but there were symbols written all over it. One symbol in particular she recognised - it was the last one on Hope’s code.

_The last symbol in the series is called an Octonion. I don't think it's a coincidence you share a name_ , Gabriel had said to her.

She held the foghorn close while she read on. “Raven, I know life has been tough for you, but without you and your genius brain we couldn’t have made it here. We couldn’t have gotten the kids out of Sanctum and I hope you managed to get them all here safely. Knowing you, I’d say it’s a safe bet you succeeded. I can only imagine all the brilliant ideas you’ll bring to this little society. PS, take a look at the machine shop.”

Raven wrapped an arm around Octavia and rested her head on her shoulder as she continued.

“Murphy,” she started, then looked around. He was the only one who was absent. He should have been here with them. “I know we didn’t always see eye to eye but I’m so proud of you and the man you have become. Your son will be proud to have you as a father and I hope he loves life here as much as we have.”

Octavia’s eyes met Miller’s next. “Miller, I know we were never very close but you’ve been there since the beginning and you’ve always done what was right. I hope you and Jackson have a happy life and go down to the beach, I know how much you’ve missed it. The water is magical there.”

Raven reached out a hand and Madi leant against her. She’d need some comfort for the next part.

“Madi, I love you so much and I’ve been missing you greatly. You are growing up into such a wonderful young woman. We told Cassie all about you and she always begged to hear more stories. You and your friends will find happiness here, I’m sure you will. Keep growing up, but not too fast. And remember to feed Picasso!”

Madi chuckled through her sobs. Almost to the end now. Octavia tried to not fall apart before she’d finished.

“Jordan, I know this isn’t what you thought transcendence would be but you were right to have faith. This is a life of peace in a way. It’s not perfect, it’s messy and can be hard sometimes, but it’s a good life. Your father would be so proud of who you are. I’m sorry we won’t get to catch up but I know enough about you to know this life will make you happy. And tell Hope without her mother we could never have built what we have.”

Hope gathered Octavia into a hug. Jordan joined in too. All of them were crying.

“I’ve left instructions for Cassie. By the time you’re reading this we’ll be long gone. We had a good life. A happy life. You’ll see.” Octavia stopped for a moment. The next phrase almost made her fall to pieces. “I hope now you won’t have to survive, you can live. May we meet again. Clarke.”

All of them were emotional after the reading of the letter. It was as Octavia had suspected back on the mountain peak when Bellamy’s memories had returned. She knew she would never see her brother again. But it gave her comfort knowing he’d been happy.

She wiped her eyes and they fell onto something that had been underneath the letter.

Clarke’s mind drive.


	15. Chapter 15

_The white orb, shining as bright as can be, before pulsing and the view fading into a vast expanse of white. Everything turns to black except for a faint golden light. Bellamy and Clarke, watching themselves in the cave on Etherea. Six Stones glowing in the endless darkness._

_Earth, dark and dusty, almost as it was after Praimfaya, with little bits of green shooting up here and there._

_Hand in hand, Bellamy and Clarke arrive at the former location of the Dropship. Gathering materials and building the cottage. Laughing together as they do. Falling in more in love with each other each day of this new journey._

_Movement in the trees. Bellamy goes for the guns. “We haven’t seen anyone for months,” he says._

_Clarke tells him to stand down. The people aren’t a threat. They need help. “She’s hurt.”_

_A little girl in her fathers arms, crying. Her left leg is covered in blood. Clarke drops everything to go to her. Although the girl moves away at her touch, Clarke persists. Staying with the girl while Bellamy grabs her medkit. She treats her wound with antiseptic to prevent infection, and bandages it up._

_“Hey,” she says calmly to the little girl. “It’s okay, I want to help.”_

_The girl looks at her blankly, not understanding the language. Clarke moves away and watches as the girl stands up. Bellamy rushes to give her support as she attempts to walk._

_More injured people arriving at the cottage, which is almost complete now. None of them speak English, or even Trig. There are countless other tongues they speak which creates a real language barrier._

_Through word of mouth they’ve been told Clarke’s a doctor. She heals each of them, giving everyone equal amounts of attention and care._

_The kitchen bench, before the kitchen is even completed, becomes a hospital bed, always full of blood and grunge. Always a patient lying there, healing from their wounds, needing to be monitored._

_Kane and Diyoza’s plans, found in the bunker. Bellamy studying it and using it to create a blueprint for the new village._

_Holding a meeting, Bellamy communicating with the others without words to get them on board. Teaching each other their respective languages to make communication easier. Bellamy assigning everyone their roles._

_Beginning to build the village on the blank pace of land which used to be Eden._

_Bellamy taking a ring off a chain - Clarke’s mothers ring - and getting down on one knee. Sliding it onto her her finger. Colourful flowers from the garden sit in her hair. Clarke says yes and they kiss, twirling around in the beautiful garden behind the cottage, showered in beautiful sunlight._

_Gathered on a waterfront with hundreds of guests watching on, they share a sweet kiss. A celebration of their love._

_The medical centre in construction. Clarke finally able to treat her patients in a proper facility. The kitchen bench becomes what it was meant to be. Food grows in their garden. Bellamy cooking meals and he and Clarke eating together. Sharing any leftovers with others._

_Clarke, her belly big and round. Bellamy placing kisses on it as they lay out in the garden in the soft evening light._

_A baby girl, crying softly. Clarke’s glowing sweaty skin. Bellamy’s eyes lighting up._

_“Cassandra Abigail Blake,” he says, placing a kiss on Clarke’s forehead. “Our little Princess.”_

_The both of them smitten with their daughter. Bellamy calming the baby down from her wails. Clarke feeding her. Watching her sweet snoring as she dozes._

_Cassandra, bigger now and able to walk. Growing up before their eyes. Clarke watching her and Bellamy from the kitchen window outside playing. Her ash blonde curls flowing in the wind as she runs._

_Clarke teaching her about plants that can heal wounds, and plants that can be eaten. Bellamy training with her and teaching her to defend herself. Both of them helping her learn valuable life skills._

_The village coming to gather. More people arriving. Laughing at their ridiculous stories, and the others at theirs. Bellamy with a badge on his henley shirt that says ‘Mayor’. Clarke watching him, a permanent smile on his face as he oversees that everything is functioning as it should. He’s happier than he’s ever been._

_More buildings popping up. Classrooms in the school. Kids laughing on the playground. Cassie and her friends. Bellamy and Clarke watching their daughter getting to just be a kid._

_Clarke and Bellamy arguing. Her telling him it’s time. Time to go back._

_Digging up the Stone in the bunker. Putting the same code in and the pulsing white orb appearing again. Cassie, now six or seven years old, kneeling on the floor, engraving her initials into the concrete. C.B._

_Back in the endless dark space. Projecting the two codes into the cave. Cassie, staring wide-eyed, reaching her hand out to Madi._

_“Cassie,” Clarke says, kneeling down to her young daughter. “That’s your sister, Madi.”_

_“Madi,” the girl says, the name falling off her tongue like poetry. “My sister.”_

_Cassie, much older, hanging out with friends. Training to become a doctor just like her mother. Clarke and Bellamy are so proud of the woman she’s become._

_Cassie, now a young adult, and a young man with bronze skin and black markings on his face. She’s latched onto his arm. They’re in love. A celebration dinner to bookmark a significant opportunity. They laugh and reminisce together._

_Just two of them now, Cassie has moved out. Her bedroom converted into an art room for Clarke. Only working part time now as a doctor, Cassie has taken over the practice. She has lots of time to draw. She draws important and memorable moments from her life._

_Even more people arriving over the next few years. The village growing in unexpected numbers._

_Bellamy and Clarke growing old together. Bellamy’s hair starting to go grey. Wondering whether he should still keep his beard. Clarke running his hand over his scratchy stubble, trying to convince him to shave. Him pulling her into a kiss._

_Clarke’s hands going frail, but still working. Still doing lots of drawing. Still healing the sick._

_Bellamy with fine lines around his forehead and patches of bald hair. Still with his mayor uniform, overseeing the village until he can no longer stand._

_Bellamy, slowly growing weaker. His bones going brittle. Clarke, sitting by his side, stroking his face tenderly._

_“I’ve loved you for eons, Clarke Griffin,” he says, his voice raspy but still recognisable as his own._

_“Me too, Bellamy Blake,” she says, her voice catching in her throat. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”_

_A gravestone with ‘Bellamy Blake’ engraved in small careful writing. Cassie, in tears, comforting her mother as they say farewell to him._

_“In peace, may you leave this shore,” Clarke starts. Cassie joins in then, the both of them with tears streaming down their cheeks. “In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey on the ground. May we meet again.”_

_Clarke, coughing, lying on the couch in the living room. Cassie, maybe in her forties or fifties now with hair beginning to grey, sitting by her side. Her hand tightly wrapped around her mothers._

_“I want to tell you something I once said to someone who meant a lot to me,” Clarke says, giving a small weak cough. She was getting weaker by the minute. “Life should be about more than just surviving. That was all I ever wanted. For you, for your dad, for me. And we had that, Cassie. We had a good life. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” Her voice was barely audible now. “I love you, Cassie. I always will.”_

_Cassie sobbing at her mothers words. “I love you, mom.”_

_Clarke’s breaths stuttering, until her heartbeat begins to slow. Her breathing comes to a stop._

_Cassie closing her mothers eyelids. “Yu gonplei ste odon,” she says softly._

\- ∞ -

They found the gravestones behind the cottage. They huddled together and let their tears fall.

Madi was kneeling down next to Octavia and leaning into her. She was unable to stop crying at the knowledge that Clarke was gone. They were never going to see each other again. She’d taken Clarke’s father’s watch and wore it on her left wrist. It didn’t look like she ever wanted to take it off.

Octavia stayed put as the others began to follow the map towards the valley. She wasn’t ready to leave yet. She held the foghorn tight in her hands.

“Aunty O?” Hope said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She huffed and let out a small hiccup. “I just need a moment.”

Hope went with the others, leaving her alone with the graves. She ran her fingers over the O symbol and dug a small hole in the ground big enough to fit the foghorn.

It was from a lifetime ago. A different time. This was a new beginning. They couldn’t let the past hold them back. This was a second, no third, no… however many chances they’d had… This was a chance to really start anew.

All she’d ever wanted for Bellamy was for him to live for himself, not for anyone else. Not to feel he had to sacrifice his happiness and wellbeing for the benefit of others. And he had. He’d had a wonderful life surrounded by people who loved him. That was all she had ever wanted for her brother.

She missed him, and she always would, but he was at peace now. She brushed the dirt over the foghorn. This was goodbye.

She found herself thinking of all the other people who hadn’t made it. This was also a farewell for them.

The hundred sent to the ground to die. Those whose lives seemed to fight them at every chance. The loyal people doing whatever it took to keep their people safe. The ones who were treated differently because of their blood. The ones who had to fight their friends to the death to become leader of their people. The ones living in a world with a fascist government and being labelled a terrorist for trying to fight back. The ones who were born in a place where they spent their lives preparing for a final war. Those who weren’t strong enough to keep fighting. All the people whose lives were unfairly cut short. They would never get to see what life _should_ be like. They would never get to see what Bellamy and Clarke had given to them.

Octavia was not going to take this for granted. She wasn’t going to let that sadness hold her back. She was going to live life to the fullest while holding the memories of those they had lost close to her heart.

“Thank you Bell,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “Thank you Clarke.”

——

Shallow Valley was almost unrecognisable. No longer was it a vacant valley or fire ravaged land. From this vantage point, they could see the large bustling village down below. People were wandering around without a fear in the world.

The school, the medical centre, wooden structures kids were playing on. A mill, farms, and countless homes. The smell of fragrant spices wafted over to them, as did the beautiful sound of laughter, complimented by the faint flow of the river in the distance. It was an incredible sight to see.

Picasso barked as a young boy ran over to them. He laughed as she licked his face. He had dark curls, covering his eyes the way Bellamy’s used to. He looked up at Octavia and smiled. She returned the smile wholeheartedly.

Madi wanted to go down to the village. Raven volunteered to go with her - she wanted to check out the machine shop. Hope had the map in her hands, crying tears of joy knowing they were looking at what her mother had envisioned. Jordan was in awe of how green everything was. Miller was keen to go to the beach as soon as possible.

Octavia was simply content. She didn’t know what she’d expected to find when they arrived back on Earth. This village was more than she could have ever hoped for.

The hundred kids they had brought here, this was going to be their life.

A life where they wouldn’t have to live in fear.

Where they wouldn’t have to become warriors.

Where they wouldn’t have to fight to survive.

Where they wouldn’t know war.

A life where they could be whatever they wanted.

_This_ was the dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read this and left comments! I hope you've enjoyed my alternate version of S7.
> 
> You can follow me on [Tumblr](https://immortalpramheda.tumblr.com) here.


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